


Searching For Home

by pisceskpopfics



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Pirates, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2019-12-29 01:58:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 127,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18297968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pisceskpopfics/pseuds/pisceskpopfics
Summary: There are many pirate crews and privateers that sail the sea, but the crew aboard ATEEZ is one of special importance to the sea. The sea treats them kinder than most and their Captain has earned himself quite a reputation that has him hunted down by many. No one who has ever crossed him has lived long to brag about it though. This crew is considered cold and ruthless, and one poor soul finds herself entangled with their lives even though she had been warned by many to never step foot onto their ship. She’ll soon find out ATEEZ is exactly as she had been warned, but also very different than described when you become one of them and join their ranks.





	1. Character Info

## Trailer

<https://youtu.be/6TFTX8lKWug>

* * *

## 

## Hongjoong  **Captain**

_Height: 5′7″_

_Age: 25_

_Weapon: Flintlock Pistol and Short Sword_

_-_ Grew up sailing

 - Loves to draw

 - Strict with most

 - Dorky with his crew

 - Has a necklace with a Mermaid

 - Named his ship after his father’s

 - Closest with Seonghwa and Mingi

 - Well loved and cared for by the crew

 - Feared by other Pirates

 - Vendetta for the Navy for killing his father

 - Wants to find the officer that killed him

 - Backstab him and it’ll be the last thing you’ll do

 - One life goal is to give his crew a home

* * *

 

## Seonghwa  **Quater Master**

_Height: 5′10″_

_Age: 25_

_Weapon: Cutlass and Musket_

 - Oldest on crew

 - Considered “Mom on Deck”

 - Nicknames: Little Star/North Star

 - Hongjoong calls him North Star sometimes

 - Keeps the crew in line

 - Makes sure everything is clean

 - Actually helps with cleaning tasks

 - Comforter of the ship keeps mental health in check

 - Soft-hearted, but not to be underestimated

 - Speaks fondly of his family

 - Longs to find his own home

* * *

 

## Mingi  **Helmsman/Treasurer**

_Height: 6′0″_

_Age: 24_

_Weapon: Boarding Axe and Dagger_

 - The only one with family contact

 - Keeps account of all funds and wages

 - Loves warm weather

 - Always looking for hot springs

 - Scared of bugs, but other than that he’s a tough guy

 - Actually soft hearted

 - Rather quiet to newcomers

 - Closest with Hongjoong and Seonghwa

 - Sends money back home to his family

 - First to take action

 - Ready to fight anyone who messes with the Captain

 - Protector of the crew

 - Intimidation tactics are his best

 - but seriously just really soft with the crew

* * *

 

## San  **Master Rigger**

_Height: 5′8″_

_Age: 24_

_Weapon: Rapier and Flintlock Pistol_

 - Can speak Spanish

 - Learned Sailing and Spanish form father

 - The happy virus of the crew

 - Keeps moral high

 - Organizes the down times and games

 - Wants a dog, requests one often

 - Rather easy going

 - Never one to pick sides

 - Slow to anger

 - But in case of a fight, he will do what he has to

 - Level-headed and reasonable

 - Tiebreaker

 - Genuinely in love with the sea and sailing

* * *

 

## Wooyoung  **Master Gunner/Lookout**

_Height: 5′7″/5′8″_

_Age: 24_

_Weapon: (Swivel) Cannon and (Cross)Bow_

 - Has a brother in the Military

 - Was in the Navy for a time

 - Started as a Powder Monkey and now is Master Gunner

 - Has a few health issues, mainly back problems

 - Suffers from occasional nightmares

 - Is rather soft-hearted, but cautious

 - Doesn't trust easily

 - Likes to climb the masts and rigging

 - Enjoys the freedom of sailing

 - Runs the underdeck duties

 - Wants swivel cannon, requests them if they get a new ship

 - First on deck when clearing new ships

 - Often takes care of new crew members

* * *

 

## Yeosang  **Doctor/Navigator**

_Height: 5′8″_

_Age: 24_

_Weapon: Cutlass and Dagger_

 - Not actually a great navigator

 - Raised by a doctor to be a doctor

 - doesn’t know too much about navigation, but enough to get them around

 - Detests slavery

 - Passionate about giving everyone a chance

 - Sometimes finds hongjoong too violent

 - Could easily seduce anyone into doing what he wants

 - Ridiculously pretty

 - Often offers to be a distraction, kind of enjoys it

 - Very protective of the crew

 - Used to be timid and shy

 - Now he’s still quiet but not afraid

 - Scary when he does get angry and loud

 - Despite that, he’ll speak his mind to the Captain with no fear

 - Keeps a list of anyone wanted by Britain if he can

* * *

 

## Jongho -  **Cooper/Fighter**

_Height: 5′9″_

_Age: 23_

_Weapon: Boarding Pike and Broadsword_

 - Grew up with this unnatural strength

 - Best fighter on the crew

 - The main defender in battle

 - Doesn’t have any real position

 - Keeps food stocked, checked, and organized

 - Loves apples

 - Loves to sing

 - Leads the crew in Shanties

 - Serves the best entertainment during plays

 - Great at pranks and scaring Wooyoung, favorite pastime

 - While often bright and cheerful, he has a dark past

 - Can be brutal when needed

 - Main one who interrogates stowaways or captures

 - once you’re close though he is a sweetheart

* * *

 

## Yunho -  **Cook/Carpenter**

_Height: 6′0″_

_Age: 24_

_Weapon: Musketoon and Grenade_

 - Loves to explore

 - Hates reading and books

 - But is great with any kind of cookbook

 - Didn’t even know how to cook when he joined the crew

 - Now he makes the most amazing food

 - A spitfire with energy to spare

 - Always willing to start pranks with Jongho

 - Also runs the underdeck with Wooyoung

 - the most caring aside form Seonghwa

 - Less judgy than Seonghwa

 - Similar to Yeosang in giving people chances

 - Helps Yeosang occasionally in the med bay

 - Has been scolded for giving food to stowaways, prisoners, or other non-crew

 - He keeps doing it anyway

* * *

 

## Alice/Alex -  **Navigator/Sailing Master**

_Height: 5′4″_

_Age: 24_

_Weapon: Short Sword and Musketoon_

 - Daughter of a Navy Officer

 - Born in Ireland, from Britain

 - Taught to sail by her Aunt and Uncle

 - One of the best Navigators around, it comes naturally to her

 - Hasn’t returned to Irland since she left at fifteen

 - Sailed the most with Monsta X

 - Lives with them in Tortuga

 - Feels like the sea is her home and calls her

 - Fears the sea though for the nightmares it has brought her

 - Suffers from nightmares

 - Has been deemed bad luck by many fortune tellers and sailers

 - Goes by Alex when at sea so people think she’s a male

 - But Monsta X has grounded her to see if her bad luck follows

 - Well read and scholar despite being raised on the ocean

 - Not the bravest, but can sure act like it

 - Smart mouth gets her in trouble a lot


	2. Chapter One: Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s a slow start for the series, but I hope this piques your interest enough to look forward to chapter two next week! I also didn’t have any particular song fro this chapter, but if a song inspires me as I’m writing I’ll put it before the chapter, I know a couple of future chapters that will have songs to go with them.

* * *

 

The London sky is dark and stormy. Thunder rolls overhead, setting an eerie ambiance as the rain gently pours into the streets. The street lanterns have already been lit by the runner, flickering in the cold breeze that pushes through the streets. The roads are empty, void of people and only occasional cartridge can be heard rolling down the street. The rain slowly picks up in volume, splashing the streets and turning everything into a wet, muggy haze. A summer storm is upon them.

Standing in the main hall of her house, Alice waits for her mother, jumping a little each time the thunder booms over her head. Her eyes flicker from the window to the hall where her mother was as she comes creeping back in. Her mother has her hair up in a bun, tied out her face in a fiery red mess and a coat in hand that she quickly pulls on before crouching in front of Alice.

“Okay, you know the way to the docks, yes?” She asks her daughter, reaching forward to pull her hood up, tucking her brown locks into the hood to be safe from the rain and then reaching down and tightening her coat around her small frame.

Alice nods slowly, stealing a glance behind her mom as she quietly answers her. “Yes.”

“You know who to ask for?” She asks gently.

Alice nods again. “Yes, Auntie Maria.”

“Correct,” she gives a grim smile and reaches up to adjust the hood once more before checking to make sure Alice’s boots are appropriately tied.

“Mother,” Alice’s voice is small, showing how nervous she is as she reaches out to touch her mom’s shoulder, “are we sure this is the best decision?”

“We no longer have options of best or safest,” her mother declares, voice strong as she looks at her. “We have to just trust the world.”

“Trust …” Alice breaths out, glaring into the darkness of the house. Somewhere in there, she knows her father is sleeping, the man who knows not of the word trust but pushes it on her and her mother day in and day out.

“Yes, trust in the world, and she will reward us,” her mother’s voice trails off into a sigh before she stands up, placing a hand on her forehead. “Now, you have to –”

"My dear, what are you doing?”

Both of the girls’ jerk in surprise, the mother, whips around and stares with wide, terrified eyes at her husband – a tall, menacing looking man with dark, angry features. Alice begins to shake as she steps back closer to the front door.

“Dad!” Alice calls in surprise, trying to hold still

“Oh Love!” Her mother places a hand on her chest and gives a strained, scared smile. “You startled me.”

He doesn’t smile or grin. He stares them both down with an agitated furrow in his brows. “I’ll ask again, what are you doing?”

Neither move for a minute and he raises a brow at them in question. Finally, the mother steps forward, moving slightly in front of Alice to block her as she reaches into the pocket of her coat and pulls out a pistol, slowly raising it to point at her husband.

He chuckles, tilting his head as he steps forward. “Really now?”

Waving her arm back, she instructs Alice to leave. “Alice, go.”

“Alice, Stay!” He bellows raising an arm to stop her from moving.

Frozen in fear, Alice doesn’t move. She stares up at her father with fearful eyes. Her mother moves forward a couple steps and raises the gun once more. With a shake of his head, the father drops his arm and sighs heavily.

“You can’t shoot me,” he declares, “you don’t have a drop of courage in you.”

“I will do what I have to, to save my daughter.” She defends, but her conviction is broken by the way her hands shake violently, and the gun rattles lightly in her white-knuckle grasp.

“Our daughter,” he corrects boringly, as If he could care less.

“My daughter!” The mother screeches, hands shaking now with anger as she steps forward once more and fires.

The kickback of the gun causes her arms to jerk back towards her face as she stumbles back, she flinches and closes her eyes as the sound of the gunshot reverberates around the hallway. Alice gives a short scream, shrinking against the oak door, gasping desperately at the handle and turning it to get the door at least cracked open, bringing in the chilling, gusting wind and splashes of rain.

When the girls look back to the father they find him unharmed, the mother fires once more hitting him square in the shoulder.

Growling in pain, he clutches his shoulder. “Alright, you wanna be a bitch then fine!” Storming up to her mother as she screams for Alice to run, he takes the gun from her hands and backhands her, sending her to the floor in front of Alice.

Alice stares down at her mother as she tries to sit up, reaching forward to push her. “Alice, run, get out of here, go to the dock just run!”

Another gunshot rings out alongside the sound of a loud clashing clap of thunder. Silence follows as time slows down and Alice stares at her mother’s wide eyes. She coughs once, twice, then thrice as blood comes up out of her mouth. She stretches her hand out once more, but it falls heavy to the floor with a thud as he head drops down.

“See what you did?” Her father scolds, turning the pistol to her as she looks to him. “This is your fault. Such a nuisance, both you and your mother.”

Before he can fire off a shot, Alice throws open the door and turns to rush out, but she falls, screaming as she finds herself suddenly falling, falling, falling, and crashing into rough seas as a storm booms overhead. Water surrounds her as she kicks her legs out, flashes of red on the edges of her sights followed by loud booms notes to her that it’s not thunder. While yes there is a storm causing the waves to throw her around under them as she desperately tries to swim up to the surface.

As soon as her head breaks the surface, she’s met with a torrential downpour of rain, slamming into her already soaked hair and skin. She pushes her hair from her face as the sounds of cracking wood, cannons, and screams fill her ears.

“Alice!” Someone is screaming for her over the noise, possibly her aunt Maria she thinks, but all she can hear is her father’s words ringing in her ears, just behind all the noise.

“See what you did?”Staring up at the ship she can only watch helplessly as the waves crash over her head, sending her under once again. The last boom, muffled by the sea, resonates out from above her as she sees a flash of fire. “This is your fault.”

“Alice!”

Jerking forward, gasping desperately for breath, Alice reaches for her throat as she coughs. There’s a phantom taste of saltwater on her tongue as she coughs violently. She jumps in surprise as a gentle hand is placed on her back.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s just me.” A deep, raspy voice calls, rubbing her back. “It’s Changkyun.”

Alice relaxes immediately, hunching forward as she takes in a couple deep breaths. Sliding her hand down over her heat, she keeps breathing slowly until she can feel her heart slow to a decent rate. She takes a second to adjust her eyes to the soft lantern light of the room before turning to her side, pushing her hair behind her ear to see Changkyun, looking at her with genuine concern in his eyes.

“Sorry,” Alice whispers out coughing again.

Changkyun sighs, rubbing her back. “Don’t be sorry.”

“Was I,” she frowns, looking down at the sheets around her legs as she shivers, “shouting or screaming?”

“Not this time,” Changkyun reassures, giving a small smile, “but I heard you moving around. Ya know, Hyungwon was really hoping that the nightmares would end the more time you spent on shore.”

Scoffing, Alice rubs her eyes before tossing the blanket off and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “The nightmares will never stop, I’ll have to relive them over and over ‘till the day I die it seems.”

“Please don’t say that,” sighing again, Changkyun retracts his hand to rub his face. “Stuff like that makes me nervous about leaving you alone, ever.”

“I will be fine,” Alice smiles, though her eyes don’t shine as much as they used to and she knows he can see it, “you guys need to restock supplies. Going back out on a voyage without me will be fine. Plus, as Hyunwon keeps telling me, I need to rest and what the doctor says goes, right?”

“Still.” Changkyun watches her warily as she stands up, stretching her arms over her head and rolling her neck.

Alice avoids his eyes as she walks over to her dresser and pulls out a pair of pants to slip on. She’s been a part of the crew long enough that any state of undress phases none of them, she may be the only girl on their crew, but they genuinely don’t care. She tucks her shirt into her pants, tightening her belt before grabbing her white coat and throwing it on.

"What time is it anyway?” Alice asks as she moves to brush out her bedhead.

“Just after sunrise,” Changkyun says, “we’ll be leaving shortly, but they wanted me to check on you before we left you alone.”

Rolling her eyes once more, she places her brush down and walks over to him. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she smiles and shakes him gently. “I will be fine,” she draws the words out slowly as if talking to a toddler which makes Changkyun scrunch his nose in distaste. “I will be fine for like a week, you guys aren’t even going that far.” Pushing off him, she strides to her bedroom door and pulls it open.

The rest of her small little house is bright, the sunlight pouring in through the windows and curtains, dust can be seen floating in the sharp rays of the sun. It’s a small place, not much space. The whole room outside the bedroom is a mixture of a put together kitchen and small living room. It’s not much, but it’s enough for Alice to get by.

As she moves to the kitchen to grab some food she calls out behind to Changkyun, “you should head out to the docks before they leave you here.”

Changkyun’s boots click on the wooden floors as he strolls out of her room. “They wouldn’t leave me, I’m their only navigator. They would – literally – be lost without me.”

“That,” Alice points to him with a grin, “has not stopped them before. They did come back for you, but that was the funniest day of my life.”

“You guys were so mean to me,” Changkyun whines, actually whines, hunching forward as he rests his chin on Alice’s shoulder when she turns back to pull down a small loaf of bread. “In all seriousness though are you sure that you will be good?”

Once more, she rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulder up to push him off. “Yes, I will be fine, no go before our Captain comes and drags you to the docks himself.”

It takes just a little more convincing and some real shoving before she gets Changkyun to actually leave. He hesitates only a second in the door before turning back to kiss her head, declaring that she better not get into any trouble before bounding down her steps and out into the streets.

“Come back safe!” Alice shouts out to his broad frame as he retreats. He raises a hand to signal he heard her before turning off towards the docks. She watches the people in the streets – just a few early risers – for a minute before turning back inside and shutting the door.

In all honesty, she isn’t sure at all if she’ll be fine.

No matter where she sails or how far she goes, this dark cloud of deep-rooted bad luck follows her persistently. It’s rather annoying. Twice when out with Monsta X on the Destroyer did her bad luck manage to almost get them killed by other ships – both pirate and Royal Navy. Near-deaths aside, the amount of simple, yet mounting, bad luck was atrocious. She can’t even count the amount of trade gone wrong whenever she tried to help, and that was the irrefutable proof that it was her that caused everything.

It only happened if she was involved.

So, now here she stands, puffing her cheeks out as she stares around her empty home. Alone.

“This week is going to be the longest week of my life,“ she breathes out in a slow breath.

Eventually, she pushes herself off the door and finishes eating her bread. Once that’s done she slips on her boots and grabs her bag of loot to trade for food in the markets. Tortuga is an excellent place for all kinds of professions, while most of it’s just a run down place for pirates to hide, most people have actually made it into a not so bad town. Alice has actually grown fond of the area, not so much the people, but the island itself is beautiful. She goes through the daily market routine and collects more food that won’t perish if left for a while as well as some fruits for the day before dropping the non-perishables at the house, grabbing her satchel to hold the fruit in and heading off into the island.

It’s not something that any of her crew are very fond of her doing, exploring, especially when she goes alone.

There’s something about nature that calls to her, mostly the ocean but as she is currently grounded, she will take what she can get. Which isn’t much. Just past her home, which is on the edge of town, is a small number of trees in clusters that are as close to a forest as you get on the island. Past that is long fields of green grass that run to the island’s edge and drop off into the Atlantic Ocean and the vast seas beyond. The treck isn’t too long, and Alice has taken it before when she’s needed a break, it’s been months since she’s been out to sea and it’s starting to drive her crazy.

As she breaks through the trees and into the green field, she stretches her arms out, soaking in the bright sunlight and taking a deep breath of the salty air. It’s a surprisingly clear day, the sun is shining, and the clouds are few and far between, no sign of rain or storms to be had. Smiling, Alice takes out an apple from her satchel, biting into it as she begins the trek down to the edge of the cliff.

Once at the very edge, she sits down and throws her legs over, so they dangle above the crashing ocean water, letting the occasional spray of water hit her legs and boots. She breathes in a deep breath to take in the smell of the ocean.

Freedom. She thinks as she lays back in the grass.

Alice stays like this for long enough that she loses track of time. At one point she’s sure she fell asleep like a cat soaking up the rays of the sun as it goes in and out of the clouds. When she blinks open her eyes, she finds the sun working it’s way down the sky, slowly darkening the world around her. The ocean before her has darkened as well and not too far out she can see storm clouds rolling in towards the island. Deciding it’s best to head back before it’s pitch black out, she stands up from the cliff and stretches out her tired limbs.

It’s as she’s rolling her neck, listening to the pop of her spine that she feels something shift in the air. The hair on her neck stands up and chills run down her spine. Turning around she sees nothing but the fields and woods to greet her, lit gently by the setting sun but looking as unthreatening as ever.

“You’re so paranoid.” She grumbles to herself, pulling another apple from her satchel. “Nothing is gonna happen on land, what even could happen on land?” Shaking her head at herself, she begins the treck back to her small abode.

The sun continues to sink down lower and lower until it’s gracing the horizon. Alice pushes through the woods and makes it back to the city as it begins to slip past the horizon line and sink the city into shadows. The lanterns on this side of town haven’t been lit yet, so it’s darker as she approaches her house. Her nervous paranoia makes her glance around the empty street as she stands on her porch, just listening for something.

It’s still, silent except for the noise trickling in from the market and taverns and port, it’s the hectic time of the city where the pirates come out to play.  
Once she deems the coast clear, she opens her door and steps inside.

What she comes face to face with is the last thing any pirate would want to see in their home. A man in Royal garb. Before she can scream at the fact that there is someone in her house, wearing a Navy coat none-the-less, something slams into the side of her head and she drops to the floor instantly. Blinking back tears from the sharp pain in her head she looks up through her hair as it falls in her eyes to see the man crouching down next to her, grinning.

“You have been a hard little girl to find.” The man says in a scarily calm voice. “Your father sends his regards, but he thinks it’s time for you to come home, Alice.”

Alice growls, struggling past the pain in her head to get up and strangle him, but just as she places her hands on the floor and pushes up, she feels another blow to her head, which she vaguely registers as a rifle stock before she blacks out and collapses onto the floor.

When she comes to it’s from a blinding red hot pain surging through her head. It aches and throbs violently against her skull as she winces her eyes shut tighter to tries and will it away.

“I thought you were going to bring her here unharmed?”

“She’s alive, ain’t she? That’s as unharmed as he needs her.”

“Still, if I get in trouble for beating his daughter I’ll drag you under the ship.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t care, Captain.”

Alice listens silently, body shaking a little as she tries to hold back noises of pain from her head. She registers a distinct sway to the ground she’s laying on meaning she’s no longer on land but on a ship somewhere. Focusing her hearing past the two conversing, she can distinctly hear the ruffle of sails and feel a soft breeze that cools off her headed skin. Sailing. It’s not stationary, so Alice thinks they’re probably already out towards Port Royal and she prays she hasn’t been out too long.

Finally, she makes her state of awake known by letting out a groan and releasing the tension of her body which brings her immediate relief from the intense pain as it sinks down to a dull throb that still hurts.

“Ah!” The man referred to as Captain calls out excitedly. “It seems our prize is awake at last. Wakey wakey, Alice.”

It takes her a second to pry open her tired eyelids, blinking slowly to focus them. Once they’re open, she finds herself face to face with the deck of a ship and a pair of boots. Shifting around she tries to pull her hands up only to feel the tight pull of rope burning her wrists.

“Yeah,” the Captain drawls, smiling wickedly, “I wasn’t gonna bring ya on my ship without taking precautions. I’m sure you aren’t happy about being caught.”

"I’m more confused,” Alice admits as she finds her voice, not bothering to drop it to a gruff tone as she uses with other Pirates. They already know who she is so there isn’t any point.

The man who had been talking with the Captain snorts and rolls his eyes as Alice shifts onto her knees, sitting back on her heels.

She flashes the man a glare before turning back to the Captain. “Why am I wanted and what does my father have to do with this?”

The Captain smiles wider. “Oh, you don’t know? Oh, oh she doesn’t know.“ The crew that’s standing here and there on the ship all laugh, some of the officers shaking their heads at them. "Well, your father did a good job of keeping it on the down low. It would not be good for a great standing officer to have put a bounty on someone.”

Further frustrated, Alice snaps out. “I don’t have a bounty on me, you must be mistaken.”

The Captain, laughs, loud and boisterously. “Oh you sweet little girl, such a stupid thing you are.”

Alice bristles at that, raising her head to level him with a glare even as her head protests the action.

“You’re wanted for the murder of your innocent mother as well as attempted murder of your father – a government official, now that just looks bad,” he chuckles to himself as he waves his hands around. “On top of that, we have piracy, robbery, running away from the law, defecting from Britain. I feel a couple of those are simply added on, but they are still charges on your pretty head.”

“That,” Alice furrows her brows, looking down, “that’s no true!” Shifting more, she tries to get her feet under her, but then a musket barrel is laid against her head, and she falls still. "It’s not true!” She presses, gritting her teeth and sparking the headache again.

Raising a brow at her, the Captain laughs again. “It is true though, well, it’s true in the eyes of the law. The story of a little runaway over the story of her father, a well-respected officer.”

Alice is simply stunned into silence and slumps back onto her legs staring at the Captain. Her defeated and shocked look makes the Captain smile. As her mind reels and spins processing this information, she feels that heavy weight of bad luck mocking her and crushing her, reminding her that she can’t go anywhere without something bad following her and if her dad has her wanted for piracy, then …

“I’m going to the gallows aren’t I?” She asks in a quiet voice, meeker than her go to strong voice.

"Yes.” Is the Captain’s gruff response before he turns away from her.

Alice blinks a few times as she thinks. She could throw herself overboard but who knows how far out they are or if she’d be able to untie her hands before she sunk or sharks came. Plus, the guy beside her still has a musket trained on her, and she’s sure he’d shoot at the first sign of movement.

The Captain has a small conversation with the man that’s been beside him. Once they finish speaking the man wanders off to the Captain’s cabin. The wind begins to pick up around them, whipping Alice’s hair and the sails around. Turning back to her, the Captain smiles and opens his mouth to speak again until he’s interrupted.

“Ship approaching!”

Everyone’s eyes turn to a skinny deck hand part way up the masts, pointing out to the horizon line behind Alice. The Captain turns immediately away from Alice and walks to the mast, tossing up his scope to the hand.

“Climb higher, get a closer look,” he orders gruffly. He gives him a minute to climb higher and higher, and as soon as he sees him stop at almost the top and lift the scope to his eye, he calls up to him, “What flag do you see, boy?”

The man that stands beside her begins to shake his head as he looks down, muttering in a mantra, “please don’t be them, anyone but them” over and over again. As he does this, the musket he holds lowers and he brings it away from Alice to his chest.

Alice furrows her brows and wants to ask the man who ‘them’ is, but her head still hurts – from both the blow to it and the information dumped on her like cold water – so she merely blinks up at him in confusion.

“The flag is red!” The deckhand shouts down.

The Captain grumbles under his breath before shouting back, “What’s the symbols?”

The man next to Alice once again shakes his head, now shaking as he grips the gun in his tightly. It shocks her to see a Navy Office look so scared, it actually makes her nervous as well for whoever could be coming for the Captain and his crew.

“I see white strips!”

“That could be randoms trying to scare people,” the Captain sighs, “do you see any other symbols?”

“Say no, say no,” Alice stares in curiosity at the man beside her as the man on mast falls silent.

It’s eerie, the still air only broken by the steadily growing wind that flaps the sails. The Captain looks weary, the crew pensive and worried, and Alice has no idea what pirate crew or privateer could do this to a Navy vessel. Turning around she looks behind her shoulder out to the ocean where she spots the approaching ship, moving at a sharp, fast speed. From her point of view, without a scope, she can only see the flash of red flying on their mast and a flash of bright red striding across the deck of the ship, but it’s still too far out to make anything out.

“Cutlasses!” The young boy shouts down.

The Captain freezes with wide eyes and the man beside her starts to whimper in fear as the crew falls coldly silent. “It’s the Treasure Hunter, sir! ATEEZ has found us!”


	3. Chapter Two: ATEEZ

* * *

 

ATEEZ. Pirates. Not just any pirate crew though and as Alice realizes just who is coming to take over this ship she feels a bone-chilling shiver rip through her.

The crew scrambles into action, loading cannons and running around deck. The Captain shouts for Alice to be thrown in the cages below deck and she’s merely in too much shock to fight when the officer beside her almost literally drags her across the deck, twisting her ankle slightly but the shock and fear outweigh the pain. She gains her footing thankfully before they reach the stairs. She’s pulled along down them and through the underdeck to the back where a  metal bared cage stands. After he shoves her inside and locks it, he leaves her alone to her devices and rushes back above deck.

Fear surges through Alice as she scrambles to her feet, breathing quickly as she tries to peer out through the bars and around the stairs to see anything. There are no windows on this far side of the underdeck, and the cannons are another deck below, so she prays they don’t fire at the Treasure Hunter.

Alice has heard many horror stories of ATEEZ in her years at sea. Some have referred to them as Pirate Kings, but many dismiss them as kings merely because they haven’t banded with any other pirates, so no one really follows them. They all simply fear them and avoid them and their Captain at all costs. Ships left in tatters. Crews killed on sight. Decks swept clean by one single man. Money, stolen under the noses of the safest places and a man who can get anyone to do anything he wants. Their Captain was once described to Alice as “shot first, ask later” seems to be his motto, especially when it came to the Royal Navy. Which she is currently wrapped up in and on a Navy vessel.

Curses slip past her lips as she hears huge commotion and cries of orders; they’re trying to outrun them, but the thing is … The Treasure Hunter is one of the faster ships on the sea. Rumor also has it that they stole it right from a Navy port in the dead of night after slaughtering the entire crew on it. That one is still very much hear-say, but ever rumor has some validity to it. Shownu, Alice’s technical current Captain of Monsta X and the Destroyer, has told her numerous times that ATEEZ are nothing but bloodthirsty killers. Anytime word came in that they were at the port or near town, he made his crew scares and avoided them at all costs. While the Captain is a fair man and never goes back on his word if you cross him just once it will be the last thing you ever live to do and those rumors have bodies to prove them.

A crackling smash and wood on wood grinding sounds fill the air as Alice is thrown to the side. Her breathing picks up as panic entirely takes over her brain.

ATEEZ has boarded.

The sound of gunfire and metal on metal seep in from the main deck. Boots making the wood shake above her head as she looks around to find something anything to cut her ropes with, pulling them off is proving futile and painful. Shouts and screams get louder as the door to the lower deck is swung open, banging loudly.

“Sweep the lower decks, kill if you have to!” Someone shouts before two pairs of boots clamber down the stairs.

Hissing in frustration, Alice moves towards the back of the cell where a lone barrel stands. Using her minimal strength, she manages to push it forward, albeit with the sound of wood on wood scraping that she prays they don’t hear admits the chaos, but then she quickly ducks behind it and uses her short stature to curls herself easier into a ball.

Without being able to see anything she can only listen to the gunshots die down and the tide turning in favor of ATEEZ as she can hear some crew members pleading to be spared. Men are moved from under deck to above deck, she assumes they’ll be tossed over or killed up there, more than likely lined up first before their fates decided. She bites her tongue when she hears boots return to her deck and slowly approach the cells, pacing before them.

“Seonghwa!” Someone shouts from above. “They say that they have one more person hiding below deck, check the cells!” This is followed by the jingle of keys being thrown onto the floor near the stares.

Alice feels a shiver run up her spine as she tries desperately one last time to pull off the ropes. She hears Seonghwa pick up the keys and head towards her cell, the lock clicking loudly in the silence. In one last yank of strength, she pulls her hands lose, skin tugging on the rope and burning a bright red, some blood even surfacing as small cuts appear on her wrists, but the momentum of breaking the ropes and pulling her hands free cause her to lose her balance and fall forward. She catches herself on the floor, splinters sliding into her palms, and then the cell door swings open with a rusty squeal.

“Found you.” The man grins, smirks really, as he stares down at her.

Looking up slowly, she finds herself face to face with what she can only describe as the ghostliest looking pirate she’s run into, with white-blonde hair, pale skin, and an all-black ensemble he seems like a bearer of bad news and death. She’s reminded of other nicknames she’s heard surface for the crew of ATEEZ: reapers, bearers of death, bad luck pirates, and the like.

“Alright, up ya go,” Seonghwa waves, looking smug as she shakily gets up to her feet.

“I’m not –”

“Save it!” Seonghwa barks, cutting off her attempt to talk and stalking into the cell.

Tall. It’s a fleeting thought Alice has as she’s grabbed roughly by the arm and pulled from the cell, he’s much taller than her and broader, and she feels herself shrink beside him as she’s moved above deck.  

As expected, as the sunlight blinds her, she sees that the crew is lined up on the deck near the edge of the ship opposite of where the Treasure Hunter is situated and hooked to the current ship they’re on, and there are more crew members in black dress keeping them in line. Seonghwa shoves her to the end of the line, right next to the man who was by the Captain earlier.

“Now,” a voice booms out, slightly high in pitch but still strong and chilling, “who is the Capitan and who is the Quarter Master?” The man speaking hops over from the Treasure Hunter, boots making a solid thud and pulling everyone’s attention to the man in the red coat, bright just like their flag that’s moving above on the main mast. He strides up to the line, walking down it while looking over each person and waiting for an answer.

Alice takes this short time to do a quick examination of this so-called “bloodthirsty” Captain. At a glance, he looks like no kind of threat at all, just a simple pirate with a mean look on his face and not nearly as tall and menacing as his crew members, his height defiantly plays a little disadvantage when compared to his crew. The coat he wears is violently red, flowing around him in the wind and stopping just about his knees; it gives an air of authority and the right amount of power, she understands why most are intimidated. His hair is the standout feature for sure, a mullet isn’t very common, and it makes it a highlight to remember. Similar to the rest of his crew, under his striking long red coat – which she notes looks similar to a long British coat but doesn’t have the strips or flashiness that the British do – is a pure black outfit from shirt to boots. The entire crew is dressed in this color, and it makes Alice understand how they’ve gotten the rumors of being like reapers and death bringers.

When the Captain finally comes to stand in front of her, he pauses and furrows his brows, looking her up and down “and a woman on board?”

“Stowaway,” the man beside her blurts out, causing Alice to whip around and stare wide-eyed at him, “a miserable stowaway, she is just violent and full of bad luck. She cannot be trusted; that’s why she was locked up.”

“Why you little shit,” Alice breaths out, turning to him with a furious whisper as sparks flash in her eyes, “if they don’t’ kill you, I will strangle you with my bare hands.”

Stowaways sometimes get very bad raps out in the sea, most are thrown overboard because they can bring bad luck, and if ATEEZ has the same views and superstitions as over crews, then she may have just had her death signed away, once again.

“Quiet you two!” Seonghwa barks, glaring at them both over the Captain’s shoulder.

Quarter Master. Alice thinks quietly, turning back to look at the Captain who raises merely a brow at her before turning the other man.

“I assume you are either the Captain or Quarter Master?” He asks, sounding annoyed.

The man nods slowly, “you killed Captain Smith already, I am the Quarter Master Locke.”

“Good,” ATEEZ’s Captain, grins wickedly, reaching forward to grab the man by the collar, pulling him forward, “now, Locke, as you know I am Captain Kim of ATEEZ. You and your crew of imbeciles have my maps, tell me where they are, or I’m gonna throw all of this crew overboard to the sharks.” He finishes this sentence with a grin, a gut-churning grin that makes Alice realize just how dangerous this Captain may actually be.

There’s a small flash of fear in Locke’s eyes as he knows that Captain Kim is in no way kidding. And, to prove his point, he makes a motion, and the biggest of his crew moves over to the far end of the line, grabbing one crew member and moving him closer to the edge, pushing him to stand on the rails.

The Captain grins, waving his arm. “Your move, Locke.”

"We no longer have your maps.” Locke stutters out, face weary as he looks over to his crew member in concern.

The Captain nods, pulling the man forward and away from the line. “Now you see, I have intel,” he turns to another crew member and passes him off, “Jongho hold him, intel that tells me otherwise,” he’s got this smug, evil grin on his face as he steps back, more menacing than his last.

Locke is now facing the line of crew members as his arms are held behind his back to keep him in place. He looks worried, almost fearful, but also like he thinks he can still make it out of this, like the Captain may just be bluffing.

Sighing, The Captain turns to the man holding the crew member on the ledge and gives a small nod. “Mingi,” the man takes the crew members hands and wraps a rope around them thrice before shoving him into the murky depths of the ocean. Locke shouts in protest and struggles against the man holding him, who pulls him tighter.

“I’m not lying!” Locke cries, desperately.

With a tsk sound, the Captain turns back to him, gaze fierce. “Your ship hasn’t stopped once at port since you raided my camp for the maps and took our gold and supplies and even if you did stop in the short time we lost you, I know for a fact that you would not sell those maps. I mean, they’re precious strategies of your other ships. That would just be plain stupid for a Navy Officer.” There’s a sneer at the end as his voice trails off into mutter of frustration. He waves his hand once more, and another crew member is put on the railing and tied, before then being just as unceremoniously shoved off.

This goes on for another five or six members of the crew until the Quarter Master finally breaks.

"Fine!” Locke cries out, slumping forward before another member can be thrown. “Stop, I don’t know where exactly they are. Captain Smith put them in his quarters, and he wouldn’t let us in until he hid it.”

“Hmm,” with a wave of his hand, the crew member on the railing is pushed back onto the deck, landing with a heavy thud, “I was expecting it to be more hidden than that, but I guess the Navy really does promote the stupid ones. Jongho, Wooyoung lock them up in the cells until we find the maps. Seonghwa, San, Mingi help me look for the maps and Yeosang I want you to go through their logs to make sure they didn’t stop when we lost them.”

With a flourish of his hand, the Captain strides off to the main cabin, practically storming inside. Mingi pulls the man on the deck to his feet before following his Captain; Seonghwa and a man with dark red highlighted hair follow close behind after Seonghwa taps a silver-haired man’s shoulder to single him to move the line done to the brig jail. The silver-haired man walks up to her along with Jongho – who as he approaches looks more terrifying to Alice’s small stature – and Alice feels dread fill her as the silver-haired, Wooyoung she assumes, motions for her to move.

She turns to move, then stops and turns to Wooyoung.

“Look,” she starts, trying to make herself look taller as she stares up at him, “I know you may not believe me, but I am not a stowaway. I am also a pirate, and I was kidnapped and dragged here. You can check the logs and whatever but I have a price on my head. I’m sure they have something about me and possibly my crew in their records, somewhere.”

The man raises a brow at her. Behind him, the scarily big one that is Jongho, calls to the rest to start moving and guides them past her. There’s someone else lingering beside Wooyoung, he’d slinked over when she was letting it all out, and she only spares him a glance before focusing her desperate eyes back on Wooyoung,

“Please, I swear I’m not a stowaway nor a member of their crew. I am here unwillingly,” she stresses and pleads, clasping her hands together in front of her.

Finally, Wooyoung scoffs, rolling his eyes before locking her with a hard glare. “Do you think just because we’re pirates we’re gonna take pity on you?”

Alice’s stomach drops, her eyes turn fearful as she leans back.

“We’ll see about your being a stowaway, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t here on this ship with a bunch of people whom we hate. That’s just bad luck for you,” Wooyoung sneers glaring at her.

“It is,” Alice let’s out voice going meek, “but I swear I’m not –”

“Move.”

“No, listen –”

“Wooyoung,” the man beside him finally talks, placing a hand on his angry set shoulder, “I’ll check her story out when I check the logs.”

Yeosang. Alice thinks fleetingly as she looks to him, still fearful and scared. Said man turn his gaze on her and she feels her mind stumble as she blinks in surprise; the man is handsome, pretty even, with shockingly piercing eyes that make her pause every thought of fear in her brain.

"Will you be good and go down with the rest? I promise you’ll be fine,” his words are lies, she knows that. Being locked with a crew that her bad luck has – more than likely – brought this upon is not a good thing, but his voice, his look, his presence … It feels entrancing. He lays a gentle hand on her shoulder while she’s stunned, voice moving to a sweet tone as he gently pushes her, “go down to the jail, and we’ll see about the logs.”

Before she can even comprehend what exactly she’s doing, she’s turning and falling in step at the end of the line with the crew. With a furrow of her brows, she steals a glance behind her to see him smiling at her, disarming her more and making the hair on her neck stand on end.

ATEEZ may just be the most dangerous crew she’s ever faced.

In the end, Wooyoung falls behind her after thanking Yeosang, and she’s guided into the cell with the rest of the crew. Jongho locks up the cell before walking off to start checking supplies and search for theirs. As he rounds the corner of the stairs and the jail is officially out of his view, Alice here’s Locke behind her sigh.

“Alright men,” he starts, walking up to Alice, “I warned you this might be the case, that something bad would happen. We weren’t sure, but it has happened.”

The crew all makes grumbling noises of understanding, and most of their glares are pointed at Alice. She warily moves closer to the cell door.

Locke gives her an evil grin before turning back to his crew. “I mentioned that she has bad luck that follows her and we were not sure if it just pertained to her or to those around her.”

Alice feels her breath catch, her stomach drop again, and her face pales. “H-how did you-?”

“I had spies,” he waves his hand like it’s no big deal, “they’ve been on the island for a bit, keeping tabs on you so we’d know the best way to get you. Bad luck follows you like a death bell.”

Alice swallows the lump in her throat; if he knew then his warnings to ATEEZ were legitimate, and there’s a strong chance if there’s no record of her bounty and kidnapping that they may just toss her to the sharks. She feels a panic attack coming on, her breath shortening and her eyes going hazy.

“As promised,” Locke continues, “I’d let you have at her if her bad luck was transferred to us.”

That makes her blood run cold as she stares wide-eyed at the other seven or so crew members.

“They are below us, searching for supplies, but we are out of eyesight. So keep quiet and don’t get carried away.” Locke then moves to the side as the crew steps forward.

Alice panic increases but her instinct kick in, and she quickly drops into a fighting stance as they all advance on her, prepared to defend herself any way she can, but it’s eight against one, and she isn’t as strong as she wishes she was. She manages to block the first couple of punches thrown her way, ducking and slipping past them quickly. Using her height and small stature she pushes past them all and even in the small cell, she avoids their hands. What she doesn’t calculate, is where Locke is in the mess of limbs and angry faces and all too late she realizes her mistake. Locke comes up behind her, kicking her bad ankle. Crying in shock, her knees give out on her and Locke grabs her arms, holding them behind her back in an angry tight grip as she lowers to the floor. A piece of cloth is stuffed in her mouth as she struggles and tries to scream.

“Alright men,” Locke grins, tightening his grip, “have fun, but keep it down.”

While this goes down, in the Captain’s cabin Yeosang steps in and makes a beeline for the desk where his Captain sits flipping through papers.

“Hongjoong –”

“Captain.” He remarks without looking up.

Yeosang rolls his eyes. “Captain, the crews in the jail. The stowaway seemed insistent that she wasn’t a stowaway.”

“Typical,” Seonghwa calls out as he walks past with a stack of books.

“Check the logs,” Hongjoong waves to an old leather-bound book next to him, “they didn’t stop at port, that we were right about.”

“Well if they didn’t stop at port how did a stowaway stay on admits all the fighting and new inventory,” Yeosang muses as he moves over to Hongjoong’s sideand, picking up the book.  "She would have to be one hell of a stowaway.“

"True, but check and make sure. The comment about bad luck has me on edge,” Hongjoong then turns away to start rifling through the drawers.

It doesn’t take them long for them to find what they’re looking for, Mingi giving a shout of joy as he pulls out the maps they were looking for out from the back of a bookshelf at the very bottom. Jongho comes in shortly after that, declaring that they’ve moved all the supplies back to the Treasure Hunter and Wooyoung beside him asks about the logs and stowaway.

With a sigh, Yeosang shakes his head. “Nothing about her or any crew. They have literally no bounty papers or orders of capture or piracy, nothing! It’s actually strange.”

Hongjoong hums as he stands up. “Weird as it is, that means we treat her like the rest of the crew. Yeosang, Wooyoung go collect them, and we’ll figure out who gets to live.”

Without hesitation, the pair head out onto the deck.

“It is weird isn’t it?” Yeosnag asks quietly.

Wooyougn nods. “At least one bounty would be expected, but none? That’s just looking too …” he waves his hands, looking for the word.

“Clean?” Yeosnag offers.

Snapping his fingers, Wooyuong smiles. “Yes. Clean. It makes this ship seem to clean.”

“Aren’t those usually the worst?” Yeosnag wrinkles his nose as they begin to descend. “The officers and royals who make an effort to look clean have the worst reputation.”

Nodding again, Wooyoung swings the jail key around his finger. “Exactly, it’s always –” The words die in his throat as he looks at the jail cell. “What the hell?”

At his voice, the crew scrambles back in surprise, finding both ATEEZ members staring at them with equally wide eyes. There on the floor pinned down by Locke is Alice, obviously beaten with a cloth in her mouth to keep her voice down. Despite the bruising and scrapes all over her face, she looks determined not to show pain and Yeosnag immediately feels worry flood him for the stowaway, which shocks him. Wooyoung acts first, voice sharp and high as he shouts for them to let go and step back. It causes a commotion of protests and yelling that draws the attention of the crew.

Soon enough, Hongjoong bounds down the stairs, fuming. “What the hell is going on?”

It’s at this moment that Alice looks at the Captain and feels her already tired body get weaker as she shakes. This is it for her, she thinks right before she feels the world slip away and he head hit the floor with a dull thud.

As Wooyoung and Seonghwa pull the crew apart and keep them back, Hongjoong looks to Locke whose still holding the – now passed out – stowaway in an almost choke hold.

“Let her go,” Yeosang says in an eerily calm voice as he steps forward, drawing a dagger.

“Trust me,” Locke growls, “I promise your Captain that by the end you’ll want to do the same thing to her, she’s nothing but bad luck. A death bell if you will, grim events follow her so really Captain,” he turns his eyes to Hongjoong, “I’m doing you a favor by killing her.”

Locke grins, clearly happy with this idea, and he begins to tighten his hold on her neck.

It’s loud for a second, the crew yelling, Wooyoung shouting, Seonghwa arguing and calling for order, Yeosang makes a growl type sound at Locke who’s still grinning like a mad man, and then a gunshot rings out, and the entire ship falls still.

Locke stares at Hongjoong in dead-eyed shock before his body slumps to the floor.

Hongjoong swiftly stores his pistol in its holster and turns to the crew. “Kill the rest and patch her up on the Treasure Hunter. Sink the ship, and we’ll make our way to port,” without any further orders he turns and leaves up the stairs.

The crew goes back into a mess of fighting with Seonghwa and Wooyoung. As he keeps the crew at bay, Seonghwa turns to Yeosang and orders him to take the stowaway to the med bay on their ship.

Carefully, Yeosang steps forward and pulls Locke’s body off the stowaway and then - even more carefully - picks her up and carries her from the cell.


	4. Chapter Three: Don't Show Weakness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter took me a while guys like this was a struggle. I hope y’all enjoy it. I’m not confident in this one, but I’m looking forward to chapter four, that one I’m excited for you guys to read, but enjoy this first!

* * *

The last thing Alice remembers seeing before darkness encased her was the angry scowl on ATEEZ’s Captain’s face, the look that sealed her fate as his eyes bore into her. She quietly accepted her fate and let the pitch-black world take hold of her. The next sensation she feels is the soft rocking and swaying of the sea, almost coaxing her back to sleep and pulling her back into the depths. Her body is heavy and sore. If she had any strength, she’d wrinkle her nose in confusion as to why she doesn’t feel like she’s underwater or wet, but she does distinctly feel like she’s in the ocean or moving with the sea. Slowly, voices reach her ears. Her hearing comes back slowly, and soon enough she feels cotton under her as she begins to feel her own body weight sway gently on the soft cloth.

The first voice is familiar, but she can’t place the name or the face. “No, Captain, she hasn’t woken yet.”

“Alright,” is the grumbled response from the Captain, and Alice feels her blood run cold as she subconsciously grips the cot beneath her, his boots creaking the floor as he moves around, “as soon as she wakes up you better inform me. I have quite a bit to ask her.”

There’s a short pause before the other one responds. “You do realize shes injured, right?”

“Yes, but she’s still a stowaway and a possible threat, Yeosang,” that name brings a spark of memory and Alice can picture that alluring face once again, “you know we can’t trust every stray we pick up.”

“I know, I know,” there’s a heavy sigh from Yeosang before he walks over to her, footsteps lighter than his Captains, “just go back to your cabin. I will inform you when she has woken, and I have checked her wounds.”

There’s another pause, followed by a huff as the Captain turns to walk out, without another word. Yeosang breathes a sigh of relief and lets his shoulders drop. Turning to the stowaway, he pulls up a stool next to her and sits down.

“You can open your eyes now,” he declares making Alice freeze and hold her breath, “I know you’re awake.”

Alice waits a minute more, as Yeosang reaches out a wet rag and presses it into her sore cheek where a dark purple bruise has formed. The pain makes her groan, she flinches away, but Yeosang holds her head still as she blinks open her eyes. Yeosang is just as alluring and heart-stopping as she remembers, but in the dim lantern light of the room, he seems even more mysterious.

The room they are in is less a room and more just a part of the crew quarters. Cots are lined up down the long hall in rows of two on each side of the main walkway. Behind where Yeosang sits is a desk or workstation, covered in medical supplies and herbs and books.

“So, stowaway, what is your name?” Yeosang asks, voice gentle, not as entrancing as before, but soft still with a slightly hard edge to it.

She eyes him up form a second before quietly speaking, “Alice. My name is Alice.”

Yeosang hums, turning to grab a bowl mixture of herbs. “I’m surprised, I mean, I know we know you’re a girl, but you don’t even bother giving an alias?”

Alice shifts her gaze away, looking above at the ceiling. “There’s no point. I know we’re seen as "bad luck,” but I’m also a stowaway in your eyes so,“ she draws out the final word with a shrug as Yeosang removes the rag.

"I guess that’s fair,” he muses as he gently spreads the herb mixture over the bruise, “this is a little healing mixture of my own making, I spread it on all your bruises, you’ve got a nasty one on your stomach, and your wrists from where you were held. I didn’t check anywhere else before my Captain came in.”

With a furrow of her brows, Alice turns to him and asks, “thank you, but why? I mean, I’m a stowaway.”

Humming again, Yeosang sits back, “we aren’t a very superstitious crew. We’ve sailed with capable women, we’ve taken in stowaways, one time even someone who was clearly a bad idea, so of course we don’t trust blindly. Hence why you aren’t, ya know, out walking freely in the ship, you are here under my supervision until you can be questioned by the Captain.”

Narrowing her eyes, she watches as he stands and walks over to his workstation. “But,” she ponders aloud, “you told your Captain I wasn’t awake even though you knew I was.”

“Yes. I’m a doctor,” he explains as if it’s simple, “now are you hurt anywhere else or is it all just surface bruises?”

Alice takes a second to focus on her body and notices that her ankle is still throbbing, dully now but very much hurt from the encounter. As she opens her mouth to respond and say as such, a soft warning rings through her head; an echo from her last Captain.

_ATEEZ are dangerous, the best way to handle them is to never show weakness, be strong and pray you never run into them._

Biting her lip, she swallows back the pain in her ankle, now intense because she has acknowledged it, and prepares herself to hold it all in and makes a soft hum in response to Yeosang. “I’m fine, this will all heal quickly. You should call your Captain in,” Alice sighs heavily, “that way I can get my sentence over with.”

Yeosang chuckles at the dramatic-ness of her statement but nods. “Sure, sure fine,” he stands up and heads down the line of cots, calling back at her, “don’t try to run anywhere, I’ll be back shortly,” before exiting the doorway and up the stairs to the main deck.

Once he’s gone, Alice huffs out a breath. “As if I could run,” she whines, grimacing as she tries to roll her ankle, sending more shots of pain up her leg. Hissing, she sits up and reaches down to lift her pant leg, looking at the ugly black, purple bruise forming around her ankle. “Sprained, bruised,” she sighs, “it’s gonna be at least a week before I can walk again,” she sighs once more, glumly as she lays back on the cot, “if I’m not killed here.”

Laying on the cot, she takes in a deep breath and closes her eyes.

It’s a while longer before voices begin to come into range, boots creaking on the wood as they make their way down the stairs. It’s Yeosang’s soft voice and his Captains, sounding lighter than it had before, and a third voice she doesn’t recognize that reach her ears as they hit the stairs outside. There are some heated words tossed back and forth as they approach the entryway. Sitting up as best she can, she throws her feet over the cot to rest on the floor, her toes only barely being able to reach the wood, which thankfully puts less pressure on her ankle as she lifts it to hang in the air. Sweeping her hair back, she tries to make sure she doesn’t look at all weak or small.

The three of them swing into the room, striding down the line of cots towards her. The Captain gives an annoyed huff as he lays eyes on her, red coat billowing behind him as he storms down the deck towards her, followed by Yeosang and Mingi, whom she hasn’t really heard speak yet.

Yeosang moves to stand beside her cot, standing pensive as the Captain crosses his arms and stands in front of her glaring, Mingi stands beside him with his hands clasped in front.

There’s a short, tense silence where she makes full eye contact with him and feels everything freeze. His eyes are intense and even more entrancing than Yeosang’s, much more intimidating, she feels a little chill run down her spine as she fights the urge to shrink back.

“What’s your name?” Is the first thing he asks.

“Alice.” She makes her voice hard, strong, and a little gruff.

The Captain nods, turning to Yeosang. “Injuries?”

“Minimal,” Yeosang answers simply, “some bruising but nothing major.”

Alice glances away as she thinks back to the number of times her head was hit before, she may have some damage from that, but she keeps that information to herself as she pushes her shoulders back and sets a strong face.

“Now,” the Captain draws out turning to her, “you declare you aren’t a stowaway and that you were … kidnapped?” He raises a brow in disbelief and curiosity.

“Yes, I was kidnapped, and I have a price on my head for piracy. They were taking me to Port Royal I believe.” Alice defends once again, knowing her story is true and hoping that shines through.

The Captain chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, Yeosnag here,” he waves his hand over to said man, “is on top of any pirate bounty out there and he doesn’t know of any woman wanted currently. There were no logs of bounties on this ship at all, which makes sense, right Mingi?”

Mingi nods his head sharply, fluffy hair moving with his head. “They were a Royal ship, but only for cargo and goods. The Navy has been keeping a few ships just for that, they sneak treasure and gold with them which is why they came for our camp.”

“Correct,” smiling, the Captin focuses back on Alice, “so, no pirate bounties, no notes, no cryptic messages to decode, so the only explanation we have is that you are in fact a stowaway.“

“I’m not!” Alice snaps, glaring at him. “Their Captain declared that someone from the Navy had a bounty on me for past grievances I had given them, I swear I’m not stupid enough to be a stowaway on a Royal Navy ship.”  

The silence that follows has Alice taking in a deep breath and biting her tongue, hard. The Captain stares her down for a solid few minutes before rubbing his forehead. “Mingi, just,” he sighs closing his eyes in frustration, “lock her up below deck somewhere, tie her up so she can’t run-a-muck and keep her away from any other crew members. We’ll drop her off in a port town somewhere.”

Without another word, the Captain motions for Yeosnag to follow and strides back out of the room, with Yeosang quickly following in tow.

Frustration rolls off Alice’s shoulders as she glares at his retreating red coat. She bites her tongue harder to hold back a scream of frustration and tastes a slight copper tinge.

“Up,” she snaps her gaze to Mingi, who stands much taller than her, “follow me.”

Moving slowly, as not to disturb her ankle, she stands up as Mingi reaches behind to his back pocket, pulling out a long rope. He steps forward, making Alice step back a half step, but he reaches forward and expertly grabs her wrists and ties them together.

“I know they’re bruised,” he says, in a deep soft voice, “but this is for our safety.”

Groaning, Alice throws her head back. “Why does no one believe me?”

Mingi snorts. “Really? You have, literally, no one who can verify if you are telling the truth or not, you expect up to believe you blindly? Please,” the final word trails off as he grabs her arm, with a firm but gentle grip, and pulls her from the room.

With Mingi holding her, they walk down the line of cots. In the next room is a stairwell leading right up to the main deck, but Mingi pulls her around the stairs and down another set of stairs where the noise of the crew moving around comes full force, seeming to have been missed in Alice’s hazy mind. This deck is their gun deck, crew members milling around the weapons here and there, but Mingi puls her through and down one more floor to the bottom of the ship and the store hold.

Moving through the crates and boxes, Mingi moves her to a particular section that’s not within reach of any of their supplies and out of sight of the stairs, he pushes her down,  taking another piece of rope laying around and tieing her to a metal loop embedded in the floor of the ship.

“You will stay here until we reach port. No food, no water, nothing,” he emphasizes his final word with a sharp tug on the rope, “then once at port, we never see each other again,” flashing her a strained smile, he stands back up and immediately walks away.

The sound of the waves on the ship are muffled down here, still prominent, but mostly the creaking of the wood and the sound of the boots above are the only noises. With a heavy sigh, Alice sinks back, sitting cross-legged, as best as she can, against the cold wall of the ship with her hands resting in her lap, the rope shifting off to her left where the metal loop sits. Experimentally she pulls on it, seeing what kind of slack she has, it isn’t much she glumly finds, enough to shift and move but not enough to go far or stand. Her head drops back against the wood in defeat with a heavy thud.

Up in the Captain’s quarters, Hongjoong sits at his desk with Seonghwa standing before him.

“Captain,” Seonghwa starts, “if she is wanted by some sort of Royal, you know we could make some money off her. We have done Ransome jobs before.”

“I just,” Hongjoong sighs, running a hand through his hair, pushing it back, “I’m not sure if we can trust her yet.”

“Then why didn’t we just toss her overboard?” Seonghwa grumbles, slumping down into one of the chairs across from the desk. “Would’ve saved us some trouble and supplies, I know Yeosang patched her up, sometimes he’s too nice.”

“He’s a doctor first, I’m not surprised,” Hongjoong muses as he flips through the log book from the ship they sunk, “and as for the stowaway, she obviously wasn’t in the best of company so it’s the least I can do to drop her off at a random port somewhere.”

Seonghwa can’t help but nod in agreement.

The situation they found the stowaway in was one even they wouldn’t dare do to someone help captive. Sure, they have interrogated their fair share of people, but that was with reason, not because they brought on supposed bad luck. Bad luck which, understandably, makes Hongjoong nervous. He’s not one for superstitions or the like, sure a lot of stories are true, but everything can be taken with a grain of salt.

Sighing, Hongjoong looks up to Seonghwa. "The stowaway makes me nervous, I don’t want the crew to interact with her at all until we reach port. It shouldn’t be but a few more days to get to Tortuga. Please, for my sanity, find Yunho and make sure he stays out of trouble.”

“Of course, Captain,” Seonghwa pushes himself up and nods, “I’ll find our trouble maker cook.”

Much to their displeasure, Yunho had already vanished from the crew’s knowledge. Somewhere between Mingi dropping off the stowaway and returning to the Captain’s Quarters, Yunho had left his station in the kitchen and vanished from Jongho – who was supposed to be keeping an eye on him.

With a small crate in hand, Yunho sneaks his way through the decks down to the storage hold.

At the sound of footsteps, Alice wakes from her dazed state and sets her shoulders, trying to look tough for whoever was coming to interrogate her. Gaze fierce, she observes in the dim lighting a new tall face walking towards her. Dressed once again in all black, with soft pale skin and a stoic face. Alice swallows the lump in her throat as she sees the crate in his hands, she fears the worst from this crew already, and now, now she’s unsure if she underestimated them.

All at once, the tension in the air vanishes as the man actually smiles at her, a small, shy smile as he gently places the crate before her and crouches. Inside the box, Alice looks down to find a jug of clear liquid, more than likely water, and a couple of apples.

Alice blinks, surprised.

“I know this crew can be a little scary,” he starts off while pushing the crate towards her, “but our Captain, well, he’s just protective of us all, and he doesn’t trust easily. I know no one is going to come to check on you until we get to a port, standard for when we lock people up, so I wanted to just drop this off for you.”

Alice is stunned, so stunned that her entire harsh demeanor drops and it make Yunho smile even brighter at her.

“Thank you,” she breathes out, hands still tied together as she reaches forward to rest her hands on the crate.

Yunho nods. “I saw when you were brought in, helped Yeosang carry you over the decks to our ship. He told me you held your ground despite the beating, that is admirable,“ Yunho hesitates at first, but decides that he can and reaches up to give her shoulder a quick pat before rising to his feet. “Alright, I was never here!”

Alice laughs, a light barely there and tired laugh, as Yunho grins and quietly rushes out of the storage hold. Smiling, Alice looks down to the crate and flicks one of the apples.

True to Yunho’s word, no one comes to check on her. This far down in the ship, there’s no light as the sun falls and the lantern dies. It’s cold, damp, and even with Yunho’s gesture, Alice feels the loneliness start to seep in. She can hear the murmur of the crew a couple decks above, but as night falls somewhere out of her eyesight, the ship falls silent.  

The ship creaks, the ocean sways, but other than that there are no sounds. Quietly, she eats one of the apples gifted to her and takes a swig of water at some point, it’s difficult in the dark. Her eyes adjust enough to see the vague shapes around her. A part of her thinks it might do her good to sleep, to just lean back and sleep through the next few days to port but the idea of having a nightmare while on a hostile ship? It’s not an idea she’s big on.

Shuffling closer to the wall, she pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, being careful of her ankle and holding her legs to that her ankle can hang in the air and get some small relief for a short time. That only last a while until her arms get too tired. She opts instead to lay on her side, her stomach protesting as she grunts from the pain and spends a minute or so shifting before finding the right position that doesn’t press too hard on any of her bruises and lets her ankle hang and rest on the floor.

With a sigh of relief, a wave of exhaustion sweeps over her, and before she even realizes it, the dream world takes its hold.

Almost as if waking up where she left off, she finds herself in the ocean again. The sea is calm this time, gently swaying her and moving her through the current as she hangs, suspended. She’s cold, but she can’t move, she’s so tired, and her whole body feels heavy like lead.

There’s something in the back of her head, noises and a bad feeling.

It’s happening again.

The sound of muffled cannon sounds and flashes behind her eyelids as she floats. The same battle again. Alice feels like she could cry, a wave of heavy sadness crushing her, physically. Gasping for breath she opens her eyes to find herself on the deck of a ship, a strong wind almost blowing her over as sound rushes back to her. Screams, canons, thunder, anguish, wood breaking, fire crackling, it’s a sea battle. There’s the distant scream of her Captain, her uncle, but that can’t be.

Spinning around, Alice finds the deck empty, a dense fog surrounding her but the sounds of battle still fill her ears. How?

She tries to scream out to the crew, to her family, but no sound escapes her lips. It’s a silent scream amidst the chaos in her head.

The fog swirls around her feet, moving around her in a twister, cyclone fashion, holding her still as she tries to walk. She screams again as the fog covers her vision and she then feels herself being pulled down, down, down.

With a shout she jolts up, yanking her hands too far and causing the ropes to tug on her bruised wrists. The pain wakes her up quickly, and she cries out in pain, curling on the floor close to the metal loop. Groaning in pain, a whimper leaves her lips as her breaths come in short puffs.

Another nightmare, as expected, she thinks bitterly, trying to get her breathing under control and calm her racing heart. For a good minute, all she can hear is the blood rushing through her ears, but as that subsides, she realizes that some of those noises weren’t in her dreams.

Pounding footsteps resonate above her head, the sound of cannons rolling into positiondn, orders being shouted across the deck. A loud boom roars across the sea at them, distant but close. The sound of a cannonball breaking through wood comes from above before the ship shakes with its own loud responding shots.

They’re under attack, but from who? Alice couldn’t even begin to fathom.

Upon the deck, the crew is running around pulling sails into position, firing off response shots and trying not to get shot. The last canon balls whizzed just over the deck, narrowly missing everyone and cutting through a sail rope, the crew scrambling to save the sail and hold the rope as the Captian sharply turns the ship, spinning the wheel to try and move away.

“Captain!” Seonghwa calls, bounding up the stairs with Mingi in tow. “They’re the ship we lost a few days back, they found us!”

“How?!” Hongjoong’s voice drips with venom and rage, eyes sparks of fire as he grips the wheel in a white knuckle grasp. "They shouldn’t have been able to catch up that fast, that storm took out one of their masts they shouldn’t have – ” he cuts himself off with a scream of pure frustration.

The pair before him share scared look as another round of cannonballs flies overhead.

Continuing to mumble under his breath, Hongjoong spins the wheel again, turning the ship once more to try and evade the barraging fire.

“Captain!” Yeosang comes up next, running with a map in hand as he pants out, “there’s an island coming up that we should be able to hide out in if we can make it.”

“Point me in the direction.”

Yeosang hurries to his side and points him in the right direction, getting the ship turned adequately. Seonghwa returns to the deck, calling orders for cannons to fire and patchwork to be done. Mingi stays by the Captain and turns his gaze up to the sails.  

Amidst the chaos and the rage, their Master Gunner had run up the sails to get a good look at the ship’s cannons, trying to gauge what their attack strategy is. Upon the Mizzenmast, he stands with the scope to his eye, examining the other ships weapons.

“Wooyoung!” Mingi calls up. “What’s your orders?”

At first, he doesn’t respond, just because he’s confused. Through the scope, he can clearly see the on-deck swivel cannon being loaded, but they’re too far to sweep their deck, and he knows at this range they are mostly inaccurate. He pulls away from the scope to squint out at their ship once before looking back through the scope. Soon enough his confusion is sedated, they turn the cannons down towards the ocean.

Wooyoung’s blood runs cold as he quickly turns to reach for the rope to repel down and screams at the top of his lungs, “they’re gonna try to sink us!”

"You have got to be kidding me,” Hongjoong growls under his breath as he steals a glance towards the other ship.

Dropping down next to them, Wooyoung tosses the scope to Mingi, “I’ll get Yunho so we can try and patch it up right away, but they have their swivel cannon pointed at our hull.”

“If they,” Yeosang swallows the lump in his throat as he tries to shake off his worry, “if they sink us we are truly done for.”

“No one,” Hongjoong grits out, through clenched teeth, “is sinking this ship.”

The universe has other plans for them though, and it sure lets them know. The first shot rings through the air, and the resounding hit sends a shake through the whole ship as the cannon slams right into the hull.

Just above the hull, where Alice is situated, the floor shakes, and the sound of water rushing in fills her ears. Fear strikes her as she hears more cannons fire in retaliation and the sound of heavy footsteps racing through the decks, down to the deck above hers, down to her deck, and then down to the hull below where their feet hit water immediately. Heavy curses rise from the hull, and she quietly listens to someone shouting orders to border up the holes. Someone declares they’re too big to plug and Alice feels her blood run cold.

Bad luck.

Nothing but bad luck.

This ship will sink, because of her being on board.

“No, no, no, no,” Alice quickly sits up, reaching over to try and unwork the knots of her bonds, “I will not die on a sinking ship just because my luck sucks,” she growls, burning her wrists as she yanks on the ropes desperately.

Suddenly, a loud crash fills her ears, and sharp pain burns the side of her face. Jerking sideways, she hears the rushing sound of water and feels herself immediately become soaked as water pours into the storage hold. Reaching up she finds wood splinters in her cheeks and hisses in pain as she presses down on them. More shouts sound form bellow as more cannonballs pierce the ship.

Alice sits dazed for a second more before the cold from the water around her makes her shiver and come back to reality.  
She tries to stand up, but the ropes are too short, and she drops back to her knees, the water splashing around her as she yanks harder on the rope.  

One more canon ball wizzes through the hull and past her, over her head, sending more water drenching her.

“You have got to be kidding me!” She screams, crying in a combination of fear and anger.

Footsteps resonate around her, and soon enough she hears a shocked gasp. Looking up and shaking her wet locks from her face she finds Yunho, standing alone at the edge of the crates, starting at her with wide innocent eyes. From where he stands, Alice looks like nothing more than a drowned rat with water pouring around her and soaking her.

They stand there, staring at each other for a few minutes. When Yunho finally makes a move, it’s to turn away, and Alice feels her entire body deflate as she sinks back onto he heels. She can feel the tears in her eyes brimming as she looks down and closes them, but she can’t help but blame herself for this situation, for it is her bad luck that does this.

Much to her surprise, there’s a splashing sound of footsteps running through the water towards her. Maybe he’ll spare her with a quick kill, she thinks bitterly as she leans against the shell of the ship, letting the roaring water sounds fill her head like white noise. Then she feels a pair of hands grasp her own and a sharp blade slice through the ropes.

Snapping open her eyes, she looks up at Yunho whose leaning over her and pulling the ropes off. “Consider this common curiosity,” is all he says before he turns to run back up to the main deck.

The sounds of more cannon shots ring out as Alice scrambles to her feet, moving away from her resting place just in time as another shot bursts through the wall where she had been. She stares with wide, terrified eyes at that spot for a second before clamoring up the stairs.

The gun deck is a mess of people running back and forth, making Alice dizzy for a second as she comes to her bearings. Despite the losing battle, their gunners are still taking orders and firing back at the ship. Having sailed in battles before, Alice does what comes naturally to her and moves to help. No one bats an eyelash at her as orders are yelled and she follows them. It isn’t until a cannonball is passed to her by their master gunner, whom she vaguely recognizes as Wooyoung that he pauses, staring at her with complete confusion before she quickly pulls away scared she’s about to be tossed out.

Her fears are stomped down when Wooyoung simply points her to the cannon that needs it and moves on to finish passing out orders.

As Alice is helping the gunners and powder monkeys fire back and patch up some holes, Yunho comes back from the hull and runs through the rows of cannons, up the stairs and bursts out onto the main deck in panic.

With long powerful strides that make his breath turn to heavy gasps, he rushes through the chaos up to the quarter deck. “She’s sinking! The holes are too much to patch!” He cries to the Captain, using a burst of energy to launch up the stairs to him. “I’m sorry Captain, but the Treasure Hunter is sinking, we need to beach her.”

Before the Captain can even reply, Seonghwa is striding over with his own news. “They aren’t following us, Captain. Soon enough they’ll be out of range. They simply plan to send us to Davy Jones.“

Curse slip past Hongjoong’s lips, his fist slamming into the wheel. “Yeosang!”

“I know, I know,” Yeosang groans through the pencil in his mouth as he looks over the maps.

More cannons fire off, splashing into the water just shy of the retreating ship.

“Ceasefire,” Hongjoong says with a defeated, angry huff.

Seonghwa relays the order is a booming voice across the deck, the order echos down to the lower decks as well.

Everyone on the gun deck collectively sighs in relief, but only for a second before Wooyoung shouts orders for them to head down and start trying to patch the holes as best they can. The crew moves quickly, grabbing boards and nails and heading down, but Alice slumps behind a cannon out of view, feeling the pain of her ankle searing as she hisses quietly, holding it up again.

Listening carefully, she makes herself small and holds her breath anytime someone comes near, the deck is relatively quiet, but the chaos on the other decks still rings out above her. Her head hurts though, the pain returning full force. With an annoyed huff, she laughs, cause it’s all she can do. The situation is more than insane and she’s sure, no one is going to believe the feared pirates of the sea ran into such bad luck. This is all her fault.

“Reef!”

The cry from a few crew members rings out through every area of the ship, the one thing no one wants to here. A reef – rock or coral – can ground a ship and damage it beyond repair. A reef would ground this ship forever.

And the warning it too late.

The ship gives a sharp tug to the left that forces Alice to turn and hold onto the cannon as not to fall. The Captain is turning the ship, she thinks, but it’s still too late. The ship hits ground, wood on rocks. The sound is grating on the ears, and the ship gives a sharp jump, leaning over sideways, sending Alice slamming into the wall as the cannon slams forward, almost breaking the wood as the ship stays sideways, unmoving, grounded. Just outside the cannon hold, ALic can see the water trying to lap inside the ship.

The Treasure Hunter has grounded sideways on a reef.


	5. Chapter Four: Shipwrecked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song(s): “Eye of the Storm” by One Ok Rock, “Broken Crown” by Mumford & Sons

* * *

 

Reefed. Stuck. The Treasure Hunter, in all its glory, lies still and broken on the rocky reef just meters away from land. The hull snapped open and cracks running up the side of the ship, slowly breaking every time the ship is jostled by the crashing waves. Overhead, the sun shines behind a layer of gray-white clouds, casting a bright, harsh glare over the scene. Fog lines the edges of the cliffs and the distant sea, enclosing the shore in its own world. The crew of the Treasure Hunter moves without much order, only a quick call from Seonghwa and they begin moving their supplies from the ship over the rocks and onto the shore. The waves carry some barrels and crates tossed overboard, and other supplies are moved with the spare boats stored inside, those are the more precious supplies coming from the crew quarters and the Captain’s quarters.

While the bulk of the crew works, the main part of the crew takes a rowboat onto the sandy, rocky shore.

Hongjoong’s feet slam into the water and sand, splashing around his boats and soaking his legs and the tail end of his coat as the waves roll up over him. Striding from the sand to the rocks covering the main shore, he screams out above the roar of the coast, voice laced with pure rage, “bring the stowaway to shore, now!”

Sitting in the belly of the ship, Alice hides still behind the canon she cowered behind before, just out of sight and trying to collect herself. Her heart races from the adrenaline of the battle and the fear of what will happen now. The panic rises suddenly and sharply, causing her breath to shorten, her heart to race, and her head to feel light all in the span of a few seconds. Biting down on her finger, she squeezes her eyes shut as the headache from before increases in pain and intensity.

What finally breaks her from her state is the sound of footsteps, walking towards her. Blinking back tears, she tries to steady her breathing and appear calm as whomever in on deck with her approaches.

“Stowaway?”

Whipping around, and hissing when her ankle protests, she finds herself face to face with the stoic face of the Seonghwa.

He stares her down for a second, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head. They hold each other gaze for a few seconds before he huffs out a breath. “Follow me,” he makes a quick waving hand motion before turning on the heel and walking back to the stairs.

Wincing as she stands, she takes a deep to steady herself and hold back the pain before following. The pressure on her ankle is intense at first, but she bites the inside of her cheek and keeps a steady pace. Trailing behind him, she walks on the crocked ship carefully, slowly gaining a stable gait as she gets used to walking on her ankle.

They move out to the main deck, and she’s guided to climb down the side of the ship onto the rocks and into the rowboat. Alice takes a long deep breath before turning and climbing down. Seonghwa watches her with crossed arms and a curious gaze, which she avoids be staring straight ahead at the ship as she climbs down. The rocks are uneven and the waves harsh, drenching her legs as soon as she drops onto the sharp black rocks. She loses her footing for a second but catches a hanging rope to keep her upright as the waves balance out around her shins. Seonghwa moves to climb down next, making Alice move quickly into the boat where another crew member sits, this one she recognizes vaguely, the red highlighted streaks through his hair the key reminder. His face sits just as stoic as Seonghwa’s so Alice sits in the rowboat with her head down, not looking to get in any more trouble.

Once Seonghwa is in the boat, the other crew member begins to row them to shore.

The ocean pushes them forward, the waves rough and choppy as they ride them carefully. The only noise is the crashing of the waves, the roar of the sea all around them. As the waves push onto the shore and pull back, the sound of rocks rolling over each other is loud and deafening almost as it bounces off the cliffs and reverberates around them in the open air.

Alice steals a glance from under her eyelashes towards the shore. She can see a pile of crates and barrels, tents being set up admits the mess and the crew moving back and forth across the rocks. The Captain, in his bright red coat, stands like a beacon on the shore, arms crossed as he stares down their approaching boat. Beside him stands Mingi and just off to the side, with their eye on the crew and the Captain is a group of four others. Alice recognizes Yeosang and Yunho immediately, they’re standing closer to the Captain also watching the boat, the other two she takes a second to place their names, Jongho and Wooyoung, stand with their backs to the Captain calling out orders to the crew of where to put things and how to set up their camp. Glancing back in front of her in the boat, she finds the other man, San she vaguely remembers may be his name, staring directly at her, curiosity brimming in his eyes.

Quickly looking away she stares at her hands which are clasped tightly in her hands.

Soon enough they reach the shallows, and San dismounts to pull the boat to the sandy section of shore, nailing in a post and tying it as Seonghwa climbs out followed by Alice. San moves to stand by Jongho and Wooyoung as Seonghwa guides Alice to the Captain -whom she quietly realizes is the only one whose name she hasn’t heard uttered yet.

“Captain,” Seonghwa announces, pushing Alice forward onto the unsteady rocks, “the stowaway as you asked.”

The shore slopes upwards towards the cliffs, so even though their Captain isn’t too tall, Alice finds that him standing up the shore from her makes him taller, more menacing as he clenches his jaw and glares at her, pure rage rolling off his shoulder.

“I am trying to be reasonable,” he starts, shifting his footing as the rocks shuffle under his feet and the waves rush up over their feet. His voice is strong and loud enough to hear over the sound of the ocean, “I am more than aware that the sea is a mysterious place. She has many tricks, and she doesn’t always have to give me good luck, but she has. I have always had her on my side no matter the event, my luck is legendary – I’m not afraid to brag. So, this, this is unfounded. That ship,” he juts a finger out towards the far edge of the sea, but Alice doesn’t look away from him, glued in place by his stare, “the ship that just sunk my ship, should have in no way been able to sail after us and find us. We lost them in a storm, we outran them and hid, there was no way that slow ass piece of shit should have been able to catch up!” His voice begins to rise, shouting louder than the roaring ocean. “Yet! Here we stand with a sunken ship and a little stowaway!“ The word is spat out through clenched teeth making Alice flinch in surprise. “What’s the only new thing we have that we haven’t before?!” He raises his arms as if to ask his crew members around him before pointing at Alice. “A stowaway! I’m starting to think that your bad luck wasn’t just a jab at stowaways, I think it’s something more, I think you are the godforsaken reason my luck has turned to crap!”

“Captain!” Yeosang cuts in, voice sharp as he steps forward. “I don’t want to step out of line, but can you really blame something like this on a simple stowaway?”

"Could it not just be a coincidence, Captain?” Yunho agrees but stays in his place with a wary look on his face as he glances to Alice.

Seonghwa barks out a laugh and shakes his head. “The treasure we initially stole might have brought us a little bad luck, but our Captain was worn out, so that’s not shocking as we usually have less luck when he’s worn down. Today, our Captain was well rested, full of energy and we should’ve had the sea on our side.“

The Captain claps his hands, pointing to Seonghwa. “Exactly!”

Even though she knows she’s bad luck and she is well aware this is more than likely her fault, Alice can’t help but feel anger fill her as the fear is pushed away for a moment. “Are you seriously blaming me for the sinking of your ship?” She asks, for clarification as she squints at the Captain.

“Yes!” Mingi and Seonghwa respond in a chorus as the Captain turns his gaze back on her.

“That’s just bullshit!” Alice fires back, taking a step forward even.

“She was helpful,” Wooyoung pipes up from his spot down the shore, throwing a look over his shoulder toward the group as he calls out, “she fought alongside the crew in the ship, loading cannons and firing back.”

“I don’t care that she was helpful!” The Captain growls with venom. “Her presence brought my ship down! She is nothing but a bag of bad luck, and we should’ve left her on that blasted Naval ship.”

“Are you kidding me?” Alice rolls her eyes, laughing and shaking her head. “You can’t just go blaming a single person for something that they have nothing to do with! What kind of Captain are you, anyway?”

“That’s it!” The volume of his voice is deafening as he screams, his eyes spark almost red in the blinding sunlight as he draws one of his pistols and steps forward to hold it to Alice’s head.

Chaos breaks loose.

Yeosang and Yunho immediately step forward with a chorus of protests while Seonghwa and Mingi move to stop them from interfering. As the two shout at him that he can’t just kill her, he turns to them with the gun still trained on Alice.

“Why not?” He laughs, actually laughs like a crazed man as he addresses his crew, “she’s nothing but bad luck, and we need to get off this island!“

Siding with him, Seonghwa nods his head as he stands between an angry Yeosang and the Captain, “it’s a fair trade-off.”

“Seonghwa!” He cries in disbelief as his eyes widen. “She is an innocent bystander!”

“An innocent maybe, but we were warned about her luck, and it’s proving true,” Mingi bites back.

“Captain, you can’t!” Yunho cries with just as wide-eyes, flickering from the stowaway to the Captain with a desperate plea.

While they continue to bicker, Alice feels the world fade away as white noise fills her ears. Her eyes focus on the barrel pointing at her, the finger on the trigger that twitches every time he jerks his arm in frustration. The sound of the waves vanish, the bickering is muffled, and all she can hear is her racing heartbeat and a distant voice from long ago. The very first time her Captain and crew ever came close to a run in with ATEEZ, his warning comes back like an echo in her head.

“If you ever find yourself at the barrel end of their Captain’s gun, run. Just run. He won’t ask, he’ll shoot you dead, so just get as far away as you can.”

Fear piercers her with such force that she physically stumbles back as another wave recedes from her boots, causing her to stumble as the rocks shift around her feet.

Run.

The word bounces around her skull as she takes a shaky step back, the rocks making her stumble again but she’s so hyper-focused and scared that she can’t feel the pain of her ankle protesting. She doesn’t even register her own faltering feet and shaking form as her eyes are still too focused on the gun.

Run.

Looking away finally, she scans the shore and the cliffs to find a way out. There, just to their right is a small wooded downslope, leading up to the cliffs and into the wilderness of the island. Without a second thought, she turns and runs. The rocky shore makes it hard to get her footing and truly run, but with the fear pumping adrenaline through her veins, she runs.

The sound of her running and rocks shifting and Yunho’s shout of surprise causes everyone to focus on her. Yeosang shouts out for her to come back and Seonghwa curses under his breath as he motions Mingi to follow her, but she’s faster with her fight or flight instincts kicking in. Before Mingi can even reach her, she takes off up the hill and through the trees vanishing into the island.

“She has nowhere to go,” the Captain growls, dropping his pistol, “just let her die here.”

Through the brush Alice runs, despite her now swollen and throbbing ankle she pushes onward and climbs high into the wilderness. Everything blurs past her as she dives deeper into the island. The fear and adrenaline finally give way, her lungs protesting and screaming for rest as a hint of copper rises in the back of her throat. With sharp, gasping breaths she throws herself down into the brush and up against a tall tree, shielding herself behind the trunk in case they were to follow her.

The pain comes back slowly as the haze fades. Her ankle pain soars and pulses making her hiss and cry out, but quietly, as not to alert anyone to her hiding spot.

Hot tears roll down her cheeks suddenly as she pulls her knees carefully up to her chest, lifting her ankle again. Scraps cover her arms where branches had ripped through her coat, and her legs are definitely bleeding from thorns and brambles, but she ignores it all to catch her breath. It takes her a bit, but finally, after a long time, she can breathe evenly and slowly sinks to the ground, laying on the leaves as tears continue to roll from her eyes.

It takes a while longer for the situation to sink in. When it does, she cries more, curling up and wrapping her tired arms around her waist. She’s stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere with a crew of pirates who’d rather see her dead then talk, it’s hopeless.

So, she lies there in the leaves, crying and trying desperately to alleviate the pain of her ankle and will away the headache she knows will come back. How long she lies there, she’s unsure, but the sun slowly fades away, and she feels the cold breeze in case her. It takes a while for the tears to stop and she finds herself too numb to move.

It’s long into the night, as she does in and out of sleep, that she hears twigs snapping and voices filter through the trees.

“Well we found a way out,” someone says, followed by another snapping branch, “an opening in the reef that the rowboats can get out from, but we don’t have enough for everyone.”

“Yeah,” someone else responds, “and I heard our navigator has no idea where we are.”

That makes Alice’s ears perk up, her eyes opening as she quickly wakes up.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” a third voice lets out in a quiet breath, “do you relay think that stowaway is to blame?”

“Did you see the fuss the Captain made over it?“ The other voice laughs, sounding as if he’s shaking his head. “It’s either her mistake or his, and seeing as his track record is pretty clean, I’m thinking it’s her.”

“I never agreed with his less superstitious side, stowaway and woman, all bad luck,” the third man again pipes up, followed by a spitting noise.

“Yeah, so’s a bad navigator, but hey we have that too it seems,” the first barks, “now let’s get all this back so we can get a campfire going, it’s fucking cold.”

Alice waits patiently for the voices to fade and the footsteps to die out before she carefully, on shaky arms, pushes herself to her knees. It takes her a minute to get her bearings and stand up completely, her ankle screams in protest when she tries to put weight on it.

“Right,” she chuckles, lowly, helplessly, “at least I can limp here without consequence,” she gives another dry chuckle before beginning to limp towards where the voices came from.

The night is dark, cloudly, and it’s hard to see anywhere in front of her, but Alice slowly makes her way towards the cliffs. As she gets closer, the red glow of the campfires gives her a little light to follow and guide her. After running into a couple of trees and having to stop to catch her breath, she reaches the cliff and quietly pokes her head out of the tree line to scan the shore.  
Tents are set up across the shore, storage items covered and stowed away as the crew sits around waiting for orders. Their red flag hangs from one of the tents, where through the opening she can spot the Captian’s red coat walking around. Looking elsewhere she sees the navigator sitting on the shore, map in hand as he glares down at it, clearly confused.

Turning her gaze out to the sea, she stares for a minute looking for any sign of life or light. She sees nothing, making her huff in annoyance. Moving back into the trees, she makes her way higher up the cliffs. Further past where ATEEZ can see her and further past where they can see the sea. With no threat of ATEEZ seeing her, she moves from the tree line to the edge of the cliff and allows herself to sit with her feet dangling off the edge.

The ocean roars far beneath her, splashing up the cliff to try and reach her, but it’s too far. The moon peaks out through the clouds, almost half-full and casting a dull glow onto the ocean. The wind is gentler than earlier, biting cold but softly moving her hair as if to calm her down. Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and breathes a relieved sigh, taking in the pure sounds of nature. After a minute of this, she opens her eyes and zeros in on the horizon line.

A gift that she’s always had is a knack for navigation. No matter where she is, no matter how lost she thinks she is, she can find a way back to civilization. She was trained by her uncle, a sailor himself, and self-studied form other ship logs and maps. It’s all in her memory. As well, she can spot certain things people don’t know what to look for, like the light.

Far, far off, almost too far for an ordinary person to see is a glow. Only spotted from this high vantage point, she can see it. Civilization.

Grinning, she feels hope return as a new plan forms.

Back on the main shore, Hongjoong stands, watching as some crew – even in the dark – try to salvage what’s left of his ship. She’s almost entirely fallen to the sea, just a few more waves and she’ll break for sure. Beside him, with map in hand, stands Yeosang, glaring down at the map and just behind the pair, Seonghwa sits on a large rock, keeping his eye on the crew.

Yeosang is the first to speak and break the silent shore. “I think you were too harsh on her.”

Not taking his gaze off the shore, Hongjoong shrugs. “I did what I had too.”

“No,” Yeosang sighs, looking over at him, “you went overboard in your anger.”

“The Captain did what was right,” Seonghwa calls to them, eyes flickering from crew member to crew member as they move across the rocky reef.

“Seonghwa, you are supposed to be the voice of reason,” Yeosang mutters, shaking his head.

“I am!” He snaps his gaze to Yeosnag, applaud. “She was bad luck form the start, she can’t be trusted.”

“You know as well as I do that, that is a load of crap,” Yeosnag growls, turning to face him, “don’t’ be swayed by anger, both of you,” he sends Hongjoong a warning gaze, which he doesn’t return, before striding back to his tent to search for another map.

Seonghwa huffs, crossing his arms and shaking his head. He continues to mutter under his breath as he refocuses on the crew.

Hongjoong stays silent, eyes unfocused as he watches his ship slowly sink into the sea. While Seonghwa isn’t noticing, he steals a glance over to the forest of the island, listening for a heartbeat before sighing and heading back to his tent.

As the sun rises and the sky begins to lighten, Alice makes herself a makeshift splint to hide under her closes and boots, careful as it not strain it but making it sure it’s hidden enough that she can walk properly. The slight rest she gained was enough to earn her back some strength, but it’s been a long time without food or water so she can feel her energy depleting quickly, but she presses on.

The day is breezy, the waves choppy and rough as they rise up the shore.

Alice steals herself as she walks, hands raised, slowly up to the lookout on the shore. It’s Wooyoung, she notes, sitting alone atop a rock while the rest of the crew sleeps in their tents. She remembers him using her work under ship as a reason not to shoot her, and it loosens the tight ball of nerves in her gut.

“Wooyung,” she calls, gently as not to shock the man.

Turning to her faster than she can blink, he holds up a crossbow, bolt already loaded and pointed at her.

Maybe he won’t be so nice, is a fleeting thought she has causing her feet to stumble back. “Wait! Wait, wait!”

Wooyoung raises a brow, keeping the bow trained on her.

“I want to speak to your Captain,” she explains, still holding her hands up, “I have some information I think he may want.”

It’s silent for a minute as Wooyoung ponders whether to shoot her or not, making Alice more fearful that he may just pull the trigger. Then, miraculously, he lowers the bow and holds up a hand. “Stay,” he says before hopping off the rock and walking back to one of the tents.

“I’m not a dog,” Alice grumbles as she drops her arms, glaring at his back.

Wooyoung ducks into one of the closer tents, just next to the Captain’s where their flag hangs. He stays in there for a minute or two before walking out with someone else. They walk close together, almost hip to hip and heads leaned close as they speak. Wooyoung’s crossbow is gone, replaced by a sword on his hip and the second man is carrying a pistol in his hands with a sheathed sword on his hip. When he looks up to Alice, she recognizes that it’s San, whom she hasn’t had much interaction with.

Once they step up to her, Wooyoung turns to San and says, “I want you to take over watch so I can take her to the Captain.”

San looks weary, eyes flickering from him to her before settling on him as places a hand on Wooyoung’s elbow. “You sure?”

Woooung smiles, “I’ll be fine, relax.”

Then, he motions for Alice to follow behind him and walks towards the tents again. Alice follows quickly, with San’s weary and nervous gaze on her as she walks past. She stays silent and waits outside the tent when Wooyoung signals once again for her to stay. Hushed voices talk inside for a second before a lantern is lit, making the tent shine in the dull morning light. Wooyoung then comes back out, motioning her to step inside.

The tent is crowded, a cot set up in the far corner and crates and books scared everywhere. A desk sits in the middle, where the Captain sits, looking frazzled and angry as he pushes his hair back from his face. His coat lies across the desk, amidst the maps and log books he has on it.

“Stowaway,” he greets coldly.

“I have a proposition,“ Alice blurts out before her nerves can seize up her throat. When he simply stares at her, she feels her heart rate increase, but she continues, “a bargain if you will. I know that you guys are lost and unsure where to go, a couple of your crew were out in the wilderness muttering about your navigator. I’m a skilled navigator, and I know where we can find land not too far from here, I spotted it from the cliffs.”

The Captain huffs, shaking his head and leaning back in his chair. “My men couldn’t spot any sign of land form the cliffs.”

“Your men aren’t trained in what to look for or how to find civilization when totally lost, I have been,” Alice supplies in a chipper voice, trying to cover up her nerves.

"What are you proposing then, stowaway?” He sighs, turning his board gaze back on her.

Swallowing down the nerves and fear she explains her plan, “you can take me with you to land, I’ll guide you, thus I will leave the island and with me gone you know that no bad luck can befall on your crew and treasures left here.”

The makes him perk up, seeming to wake up a little as he sits up straighter. “Are you admitting to being bad luck?“

“No,” she says without hesitation, making Wooyoung behind her almost chuckle, “but you seem to think I am so I thought that idea would appease you,” she offers, with a nervous grin.

He thinks for a moment, tapping his fingers on the desk. Then he nods, motioning for her to continue.

“Once we reach the shore you forget you ever saw me and I leave your lives for good. If we are where I think we are, it’s too far from here to Tortuga,” she gives a sheepish smile, nervous that he may still turn her down.

“Wooyoung,” he turns his gaze to him, “bring me Yeosang, we need to look at the maps.”


	6. Chapter Five: Back to Mainland

* * *

 

Yeosang comes to the tent with the maps in hand, hair disheveled and standing up on its ends He doesn’t even bother to pat it down or try and tame it as he’s too busy carrying the maps and laying them out on the Captain’s desk, rubbing away the apparent sleep in his bagged eyes. Alice stands beside the desk, tense and nervous as the Captain is emitting a rather frustrated aura, only with her though, not with his crew and she is fully aware of them.

“Hongjoong–”

“Captain.”

There’s a short pause, where Alice feels her heart drop. While the tone of his voice isn’t harsh, there is a glare that shows he isn’t happy about being called by his real name in front of the stowaway, but Alice rejoices silently as she finally has a name to go with the face. Hongjoong. Hongjoong Kim. Captain of ATEEZ.

Yeosang blinks and shakes his head, “sorry,” he mutters while glancing to Alice – as if he had forgotten that she was there – before turning back, to the desk, placing his hands down on the map placed down in front of them, “Captain, I would like to formally apologize for getting the wrong maps and giving you the wrong information. While yes it was a hectic and sudden battle, I still should have double checked to make sure I was reading off the correct map.”

Hongjoong waves him off with a simple gesture. “It’s fine Yeosang. We have a so-called, self-proclaimed navigator here though whom states that she knows how to get to Tortuga from here.”

Scrunching his nose, Yeosang looks to Alice. “I can’t catch hide or tail of where we are, so how can you?”

“Your men didn’t go up,” Alice states, voice strong with only a slight waver to it where her nervousness shines through, “if you climb high on the cliffs you can spot a glow of some sort on the dark horizon, it’s faint, and quite far out, most can’t see it.”

Squinting at her, Yeosang shifts his weight, so he’s leaning on one hand while the other rests on his hip, “but you can?”

“I was trained to,” Alice states again, hands nervously grasped together in front of her, “I lived on the sea for almost half a year learning the ins and outs of navigation and sailing and how to find my way back home.”

“As you said,” Hongjoong mutters, holding back the urge to roll his eyes at her as he shifts in his chair, “she believes we aren’t too far off from Tortuga. She claims that she could see distant lights and that we could make it in a rowboat from here to there in just a day’s time.”

Yeosang raises a brow, “You really think you know enough about navigation to be correct?”

“I have no way to prove it to you, frustratingly so,” she huffs out the last few words, blowing her hair away from her face before gaining her composure, “but I’d hope you would believe me because I’d rather not die on this island if I don’t have to. Plus, I’m sure you would like to see your crew in better luck since you believe that I am the root of your bad luck currently.“

Hongjoong stares her down with an unreadable expression on his face, still and calm. Yeosang turns back to the map at hand, showing the seas around Tortuga and Port Royal. Chills run down Alice’s spin the longer Hongjoong watches her, so she tries to shake it off and steps forward slowly to look at the map from next to Yeosang.

She only takes a minute to look it over before finding exactly where they are, “ah, see, this island right here. It looks to be about here so I’d say this island right here, this tiny little barely-there island.”

As she holds her finger next to it, showing him, Yeosang’s stares in confusion as he leans closer to look, “but there is nothing here that denotes a reef or rocks or any kind of danger, and this island seems bigger than that.”

“Maps can be deceiving,” Alice shrugs, moving her hand away, “this could have been charted wrong by someone and if they just sailed past they would miss the rocks entirely.”

“That is true, so, if we are on this island, then Tortuga isn’t far.” Yeosang hums in agreeance, running his finger across the map as he charts out a course in his head. He picks up a pencil and makes a long streak of small x’s around the front of the island, to mark where the rock reef sits.

“We should set sail immediately then,” Hongjoong declares, placing his hand heavily on the desk.  "The faster we can get to Tortuga the faster I get a ship, and the faster you get out of my life,” he points a finger at Alice, making her step back again and grip her hands together tighter. “Now, I have some ground rules,” he stands up out of his chair, donning his coat and grabbing his short sword and sheath, tying the belt around his waist. “You are not allowed to speak on the boat until we reach shore. I only trust Yeosang and now that you have shown the way I feel he will be easily able to guide us to shore, and finally,” he turns his sharp gaze on her, eyes boring into her soul, “if we run into each other again I will want compensation of some kind from you or your so-called crew. That will give you some incentive to steer clear of my crew and me.”

With a huff, Alice crosses her arms, coking out a hip as she levels Hongjoong with an unimpressed look. “Is that how you’re gonna make sure I don’t fuck with you again? Because I’m such bad luck according to you?”

Hongjoong actually rolls his eyes this time, “and that is exactly why you aren’t allowed to talk, starting now.”

Alice can’t even hide her irritation, she’s bristling, and there’s a comeback on the tip of her tongue, she opens up her mouth to snap at him, but he keeps talking over her as he raises his voice.

“Alright, Yeosang, collect the crew. I want you, Mingi, and San to join me along with her,” he walks away from the desk and over to a crate by his bed, collecting a couple of pouches and his gun holster. “Seonghwa will be in charge for the time being and have everyone make sure that everything is stacked in a way that will make it easier to load when we return.”

“Swivel cannons.”

All eyes turn to Wooyoung; he stands leaning against one of the tent poles. Alice blinks in surprise, honestly having thought he had left during their talk. Hongjoong pauses, holding his holster midair as he looks at him.

“I’m sorry,” Hongjoong blinks, looking around before locking on Wooyoung again, “what?”

Wooyoung grins, smirks really, as he nods his head once. “If you get a big enough ship, then I want swivel cannons. It’s my only request since I’m obviously not joining you to shore.”

“Oh well, if we’re making requests,” Yeosang grins, rolling up the map after he marks the route to Tortuga, “then a med bay would be nice if we can swing it.”

“I will,” Hongjoong sighs, but Alice sees a fleeting smile, an almost there almost not there smile that makes him look soft for only a hair before his face hardens once again and he turns away from them, “I will take those into consideration, just, get the crew and take her to the boat.”

With a dismissal wave from Hongjoong, back still turned, Yeosang sweeps the maps off the desk and strides out of the tent, and Wooyoung steps forward grabbing Alice’s arm, pulling her back outside and back towards the shore where San stands.

The sun is rising slowly, illuminating the horizon and shoreline slowly as it rises from the ocean’s edge. San is still at the same rock Wooyuong sat, looking almost ethereal in the dim sunrise as he stands, arms crossed and pistol now holstered. His skin seems to glow in the sunlight, and as he turns his gaze on them, his eyes have this protective spark in them. As soon as he locks eyes on Wooyoung, Wooyoung let’s go of Alice and bounds up to him.

“Hongjoong wants you to accompany him, the stowaway, Yeosang, and Mingi to shore,” Wooyoung supplies the information as he climbs up the rock to stand next to him.

At that information, San seems to relax, uncrossing his arms to place a hand on Wooyoung’s arm. “Okay, I’ll take her to the boat and wait for them. You gonna be okay on watch?”

Wooyoung gives a light-hearted chuckle, reaching up to rub San’s shoulder, “I should be asking you if you’ll be alright,” his eyes shift to Alice, who quickly turns away with her head down, “with the stowaway and all.”

“We’ll be fine,” San assures, smiling at him.

Feeling once again lost and alone, Alice crosses her arms around her stomach and drops her head to look at the waves rolling up over her boots. The sea seems to have calmed down since she went to the Captain, meaning that the storm has passed, she hopes.

It isn’t long before San comes to grab her, pulling her, surprisingly gently, towards a collection of rowboats. They step up to one where Hongjoong and Yeosang stand together going over the maps. San moves her into the boat, placing her near the lone front seat that forces her to face the shore, no one else spares her a glance as they are too focused on the map, so she takes this as an opportunity to relax for a second and grimaces in pain. The splint is helping, but the ankle is more than likely bruised, swollen definitely, she wouldn’t even be surprised if the bones had fractures in them as well from the way it was twisted and stepped on it especially with the unsteady rocky shore. Quietly hissing out the pain she’s held in, she lifts it off the floor and holds it in the air to alleviate the pain. She still keeps her eyes sharp to make sure no one is looking at her, and no one sees her distress.

It’s not long later before the entire crew begins to rise, moving around the beach, their murmurs and voices creating an ambient backdrop amidst the calmly roaring ocean that gently rocks the boat. She thinks she could sleep here, take a nap in the sun rays warming her back with the sea claiming her anxieties, but she still feels too tense with the crew and company around her.

Eventually, Hongjoong and Mingi step into the boat, sitting in front of Alice on either side, keeping her in between them and within eyesight. Stealthily, she holds her foot just off the boards of the boat, not high enough for anyone to really notice and letting her rest it even as the waves rock the boat slightly. Once at sea she knows she’ll have to place it back down. Yeosang takes a seat by Hongjoong, sitting with the maps in hand and San seats himself in behind them with the oars on both sides, facing them and keeping his attention on Yeosang to follow his guide. Behind them, she sees someone untying the rope, and she turns her gaze down though afraid of who it may be. Mingi gives the guys a thumbs up to signal they’re ready to be pushed out, then he looks to Alice, eyes boring into her as she keeps her hands clasped tightly in her lap and eyes focused solely on her boots.

Hongjoong watches them for a second before speaking up, "she is not allowed to speak, per the rules and guidelines of this transaction.”

Humming, Mingi leans back as San begins to row the boat towards the rocks. “So, no speaking unless spoken to?”

“Not even then,” Hongjoong grins, quite proud of himself.

Neither of them notices that San rolls his eyes at them.

The boat ride is eerily silent. Hongjoong and Mingi occasionally swap ideas about how to get a new ship and who in Tortuga has ships. Alice knows Monsta X does, they even mention them in passing, neither thinking it’s a great option to start; somehow Alice manages to hide her smirk. The only other talking is the occasional word or two from Yeosang and San, but they mostly communicate in hand motions and gestures. The ocean sloshes around them, not as loud as it was on shore, and the further out they go out into the depths the less noisy it seems it be. It’s a long, long stressful journey across the ocean. San and Mingi switch positions a couple of times to give each other a break, Hongjoong and Yeosang appear wholly relaxed and at ease while Alice sits almost entirely still, unmoving. It’s mostly silent and very tense for Alice. She doesn’t ever relax her pose, and she doesn’t even lift her head, it’s killing her neck and making her beg for hours to pass quicker, but they don’t.

Eventually, and not soon enough, land comes into view as the sun works it’s way down the sky at their back.

Yeosang calls out ‘land ahead,’ and San takes over once again to row the rest of the way. It’s still awhile more before they actually reach the shore, managing to find a dock at the edge of the landmass with a few huts sitting around like a small village. There’s a light mist surrounding the shoreline as they row up to the dock, but the fog is slowly growing heavy as the sun sets.

Alice finally lifts her head to turns and look at the island, recognition dawning on her face and relief making her entire body relax, but only Yeosand notices this as he’s still keeping a close eye on her.

“Is this Tortuga?” Mingi questions, shifting to stand.

“Yes and no,” a voice calls form the fog, raspy and deep, “Tortuga the pirate town is just a little further along the coast, but this is the island of Tortuga.”

Mingi squints into the rolling fog as footsteps on wood sound out, someone walking down the dock towards them. Soon enough a man emerges, dressed in casual slacks, heavy black boots, and a white tunic with a brown cloak hanging off his shoulders. His hair is a dark brown that almost blends into the darkening sky while his features are more pale with light tan tones to them in the setting sun. His gaze is sharp, mouth set in a firm line as he approaches them.

"Sail along the coast, heading that way,” he waves his arm out to point towards the curving coastline, “a few more hours of rowing and you’ll make it to Tortuga.”

San immediately grips the oars, and Mingi sits back down nodding his head.

“Thank you,” Hongjoong smiles, giving a slow nod, “we’ll be off –”

“Um,” all eyes snap to Alice as she clears her throat, standing on shaky legs, “we are at shore. So, I think I will make my departure,” she glances to the man on the dock and sees the recognition flash in his eyes as he rocks back on his heels. “As you said I couldn’t speak until we reached shore and we have reached a shore. Just as well, you can make it to Tortuga on your own so I will,” she takes a shaky breath as she looks at her ankle, “take my leave now.”

With careful steps, she maneuvers past Hongjoong, who is now glaring at her, and Mingi and steps up on the boat ledge gently. The man on the docks moves quickly, stepping over and reaching out his hands to help pull her up.

“I wish you all luck on finding a ship, and I hope no bad luck befalls your crew,” she gives a sharp nod and turns slowly before striding into the fog down the docks.

The man behind her laughs, shaking his head as he waves off the small pirate crew before following her. They step onto the rocks together, and once he’s sure the boat can’t see them he throws his arm around her shoulders with a dramatic sigh.

“Alex oh, Alex,” he sings songs, grinning from ear to ear with a wide gummy smile, “nice bruise by the way, who did you piss off?”

“It’s Alice,” she corrects, “we aren’t crew mates anymore, Yoongi, I already told you to call me Alice. As for the bruise, Navy officer gave it to me, rude prick.”

With a click of his tongue, he squeezes her shoulder and shakes his head, “Very nice, always good to have a Navy run-in once in a while and yes I know it’s Alice, but Alex rolls off my tongue more naturally, besides we should be more concerned about where you’ve been the past few days.”

“Oh no,” Alice covers her face and stops walking, muttering through her hands, “are they already back?”

“Yep,” he pops the ‘p’ grinning like an idiot, “Shownu has already been over here demanding to know if you were with us and if not if we knew where you were. He is currently very furious and believes that you went out to sea.”

“Not by choice,” Alice whines, throwing her hands down, "I was kidnapped, oh god, I need to get to Tortuga before he gets any angrier at me,” she blows her hair from her face, groaning quietly, “can I borrow a horse? I swear, I’ll have one of the boys bring it back tomorrow.”

Yoongi grins, reaching up to ruffle her hair. “Anything for my second favorite navigator.“

Alice’s jaw drops, looking up at him, “second favorite?”

“Well of course,” he waves his hand as he steps back motioning to himself as he holds his arms open, “I’m my favorite navigator, please.”

Alice smacks his chest as she laughs, “alright ya selfish prick, get me a horse already.”

They laugh together as Yoongi rewraps his arms around her shoulders, guiding her over to their stables.

Soon enough she’s riding off into the island with a promise to come to visit her old crew as soon as she can, but first, she has to confront her current crew and Captain, and explain where she was for the last few days.

The ride to Tortuga was only slightly painful, her ankle hangs in the strap and jostles occasionally, but it’s a manageable pain as it’s at least off the ground. The sun continues to set behind her as she makes her way quickly to town, taking shortcuts through the trees to cut down her time. By the time she reaches the outskirts of the city, her heart is racing, and the poor horse is out of breath. She feels an impending danger or another impending bad luck experience, which she is not at all prepared for. She rides the horse to the central hotel, which is run by her Captain and some workers here on the island which used to be apart of his crew.

Carefully, she climbs down from the horse, good foot first, and takes the horse to tie him up in front of the hotel.

Staring up at the hotel, she feels dread fill her. Shownu is going to be mad. Stealing her nerves, she tries to give herself a short mental pep talk as she limps up to the doors.

The bell above the door chimes as Alice pushes it open, she pears into the dimly lit entryway. Lanterns hang from the main stairwell and the front desk, illuminating the room in a soft glow. There at the desk sits a tall, muscular man. His face is sweet and kind, eyes showing the heart of a gentle giant as he flips through the log book. Alice clears her throat as she walks up to him.

“Captain,” she calls gently, making her voice slightly higher and softer to seem more innocent.

His head snaps up at her voice, and she stumbles a little when he lands a hard glare on her. His eyes scan over the still prominent bruise on her face “Where have you been?”

“I can explain, I swear – ”  she cuts herself off with a yelp of pain. She tried to skip forward, pick up her pace as she lifted her hands to calm her Captain, but then her ankle gives out, sending her down onto the ground.

“Alice!” He shouts, almost jumping the desk, but opting instead to go around and rush to her side. “Are you okay? What’s hurting?”

“Nothing!” Alice lies, with pain still laced on her face. “I’m fine Captain, it’s nothing,” she waves him off and tries to push herself up, but her ankle gives out again, and she drops slowly back onto the floor with a groan on pain.

All the commotion and yelling cause the door behind the desk to open. A tall, lanky man with pitch black hair steps out, shaking his hair out of his face as he looks around for the source of the noise.

“Hyungwon,” the Captain calls, raising his hand to wave him over, "Alice is back, and she’s hurt.”

“No, I’m like, so fine,” Alice mutters under her breath as Hyungwon walks around to them.

“At least you’re back, Shownu here,” Hyungwon huffs out as if bored with this conversation already as he crouches next to her, “has been fluctuating between mad at you and scared for you.”

“Shut up and check her,” Shownu grumbles half-heartedly as he waves a hand.

Alice can’t even put up a fight as Hyungwon immediately zeros ins on her ankle and gently pulls off her boot. She sits up to try and stop him, but Shownu holds a hand to her shoulder, keeping her in place as she hisses in pain. Hyungwon curses under his breath when he sees her makeshift splint, and then quickly rolls up her pant leg to revile the angry black-blue bruise surrounding her sprained ankle.

“Jesus Christ, Alice,” Hyungwon breaths, eyes wide, “this is so sprained it’s not even funny.”

“You came back like this? No one checked on you?” Shownu asks in pure disbelief.

“Well, my rescuers did, but I didn’t want to show weakness in case they, ya know, turned on me,” she shrugs as if it makes sense, “so I suffered through it until I could get back here.”

Both of the men give her disapproving looks and sighs.

Shownu moves first, slipping his arms under her knees and behind her back, lifting her easily off the floor as Hyungwon moves to the back room, opening all the doors that lead to their little medical section of the hotel. Shownu follows him diligently, as Alice sits quietly in his arms. He lays her out on the first bed in the room, and Hyungwon swiftly places a pillow under her ankle to elevate it before he wraps it.

“You better let Changkyun know she’s home,” Hyungwon says as he turns to collect the supplies she needs, “he’s been a nervous wreck since we couldn’t find you. He was the first to fear your bad luck had spread.”

“He’d be right,” is all Alice mutters before she lets her eyes close, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.

Shownu and Hyungwon share a look, one of concern and curiosity.

“I’ll get Changkyun,” Shownu breaks first, turning back the way they came, “then you can explain what the hell happened.”

Alice is thankful that he leaves the questions for a few minutes more, it gives her time to think as Hyungwon treats her ankle.

One thing she knows for sure she cannot tell them that she was with ATEEZ, she can just say ‘a pirate crew,’ and that should leave little room for questioning. Once she mentions the Navy, she knows for sure that they will want to start figuring out to get rid of her bad luck. Which means fortune tellers and card readers and all that such, things she’d rather avoid if she could, but life is not on her side at the moment.

After her foot is successfully and tightly wrapped up in a bandage and elevated higher with another pillow, Hyungwon shakes his hair from his face and pulls a chair to sit by her.

“Alright, so you have a major screwed up ankle, like, I don’t even think I wanna know how,” Hyungwon waves his hand around in the air, “do you have any other injuries I should be aware of?”

Alice nods, sitting up and shrugging off her coat, tossing it to Hyungwon who sets it on the bed behind him. Carefully she shows off her wrists and then lifts her shirt too so he can see the bruise on her stomach.

Hyunwon hisses, eyes squinting at the bruises.

“Okay,” Hyunwon sighs, standing up again, “I’ll make a balm for those, and we’ll spread it over all your bruises. Plus, I want to wrap your wrists, those look like hell.”

Alice just nods her head and drops back onto the bed.

It isn’t until Hyunwon has made the balm and is spreading over her stomach that a loud ruckus can be heard out in the hotel. Very shortly after the sound of something being knocked over, the door is slammed open, and a frantic Changkyun stands there panting.

“Alice!” he cries, rushing to bed at top speed.

Hyungown can barely hold out an arm to stop him before he crashes into her. “Stop! I need to finish covering her bruises, so just sit.”

Changkyun drops to his knees by the bed and stares at Alice with wide eyes, “please tell me what happened? I was so fucking worried about you, I thought I might die from worry, honestly.”

Shownu walks up behind him, arms crossed over his chest, “yeah, let’s hear this tale.”

Sighing, Alice pulls down her shirt as Hyunwon moves to work on her wrists. “It was literally the day you left, I came back to the house, and Navy Officers were waiting for me. They kidnapped me, saying something about my dad having a bounty on my head, which is fucking brand new news to me, so we need to be aware of that. Then we were ambushed by another pirate crew they stole from, so my bad luck continues. Then,” Alice laughs a slightly crazed laugh as she sighs, “then their ship sunk due to my bad luck which their Captain banked on, and so I bargained as a navigator to guide them to shore and never see them again. All the bruising and my ankle came from the Navy crew, not the pirates they were,” she draws the word out as she watches Hyungwon wrap her wrists, “alright, little hostile after their ship sunk but they did bring me to shore. I took a horse from BTS, promised Yoongi that I’d have one of you bring him back soon.”

“Well at least you’re here and safe,” Changkyun smiles, grabbing her hand and gripping it gently once Hyunwon moves on to rub the balm on the bruise on her face.

"Safe is one thing,” Shownu gives a hefty, disappointed sigh as his shoulders sag, “but your bad luck in accelerating to a feverous pitch and that can’t stand.”

“She still needs to rest, though,” Hyunwon reminds him as he steps away to put away his supplies.

"She can stay here,” Shownu waves him off, “Changkyun, you come with me, and we’ll find a fortune teller or card reader that can come here. Hyungwon, man the front desk, I don’t want anyone thinking they can just come in here,” he then turns his gaze to Alice, “and you, rest up. We’ll figure this out and fix everything, somehow.”

With a firm nod from him, the crew disperses. Changkyun squeezes her hand and kisses her head before following Shownu out the door. Hyungwon double checks all her wounds, especially her ankle before leaving her to own devices and shutting the door.

Once alone, Alice’s whole body sags and sinks into the bed. As soon as the tension leaves her body, tears spring up in her eyes. Repressed emotions coming to the surface to finally be released from her tight hold on them. She just lets the tears flow, she cries for the first time in a while and allows it to consume her for the time being.

Alone, crying, where no one will notice so she can be entirely at ease, even though she knows, ooh how she knows that a storm is beginning to brew on the horizon.

This is just the tip of her bad luck, she can feel it. 


	7. Chapter Six: Bad Luck Spot

* * *

 

As the sun sinks down below the horizon line, giving way to the dark night, a boat rows into the small port side edge of Tortuga. The handful of ATEEZ members that occupy the boat as San rows them up to the shore, Mingi hopping out and pulling the rowboat into the shallows of the beach and anchoring it to a small wooden post that already sits on the shore. The waves are calm around them, quietly lapping at the sand and their feet as they all exit the boat.

 

Jumping out, boots splashing in the calm water, Hongjoong immediately dishes out orders to his crew, “San, I want you to head over there to the docks. Scout out any potential crew members to help with the ship and see if there is any word of someone selling ships for prize.”

 

With a quick nod, San makes sure their boat is secure before sticking his hands in his pockets and striding off down towards the docks.

 

“Mingi,” Hongjoong turns to the taller man, “you will come with me to the local bars, see if we can’t squeeze any information out of some of the drunks. I’m positive there are ship dealers here we just have to find them,” he explains before turning to his final crew member. “Yeosang, I’ll let you do what you need to. Medical supplies. Navigation and maps. Just get what you need to make sure we can get back to the crew in one piece.”

 

“Aye, aye,” Yeosang gives a half-hearted salute to them. He tucks his map into his coat pocket before heading up the shore and into town.

 

The three of them stay on the same path up until they hit the main roads, splitting off into their respective partiers.

 

The town is alight with noise and people. Pirates and girls fill the docks, the ships, the bars, and the streets. It’s bright too, all the lanterns having been lit and the bars emitting light out into the streets. Laughing and conversations keep a loud buzz amongst the occasional music band and clinking of glasses on wood. Yeosang moves smoothly through all of this, his smaller stature and darker presence making him blend effortlessly into the crowd and slip in and out of groups. It’s a spy tactic, to keep people from either following you or realizing you’re following them and now it’s just how he moves. It gets quieter as he walks into the shop’s section. It’s mostly quiet, still a decent amount of people milling about the hotels and shops, but less rowdy than the strip near the docks. He moves with ease through the back alleys and side streets, heading towards the map and book store.

 

It’s as Yeosang is getting ready to step back out into the main streets that he hears a new, but familiar, name being spoken about in hushed whispers. Moving into the shadows quickly, he watches as two men exit the main hotel he’s leaning against.

 

“Captain,” the younger looking one starts as they begin down the steps, “you can’t possibly be mad at Alice, right?”

 

“I’m not!” The Captain snaps, clearly frustrated and tired. He isn’t overly tall, but his burly and Yeosang would think him menacing if not for his softer face. “I’m just,” he sighs, rubbing a hand down his face, “I’m frustrated. Her bad luck is so much worse than she’s been letting on, we can’t even leave her alone without something happening.”

 

“Alice can take care of herself,” the other defends, teeth bared almost in a growl.

 

The Captain scoffs, stopping to turn and fully face the boy, leveling him with a hard look. “She is laying in the hospital wing with a horrific ankle injurer that if left untreated much longer, would’ve had to have been amputated. Not counting the bruises all over her stomach, face, and wrists. That’s taking care of herself.”

 

The boy doesn’t respond, he stands stiffly still with his fits clenching at his sides. His body language screams anger as he keeps his head down as not anger his Captain. The Captain himself shakes his head and turns again, heading towards the bustle of the town.

 

“Let’s just get a card reader or fortune reader and get back before anything else bad happens,” he mutters while motioning the boy to follow.

 

As the pair march off, Yeosang looks up at the hotel he’s next to, slowly stepping out so he can see the sign.

 

“Ah,” he breathes out, recognition dawning on his face, “Monsta X’s hotel and medical center. That must’ve been Shownu then,” he nods his head as if agreeing with himself. Crossing his arms over his chest, he tilts his head. “I’ve been in their before . . . I think the medical section is in the back, there should be a door in there,” making a tsking sound he jerks his head and then shakes it.

 

He’s torn, the internal struggle raging his head as he stares down the hotel. He could continue on to the book store, collect his maps and spend the night studying the routes and island, but he could also go in there and check on the stowaway who had clearly lied to him about her injuries. As a doctor first, he feels torn and a little angry actually, the fact that she hid quite serious injuries makes him want to scold her and set her straight.

 

Groaning in defeat, his feet move to the hotel as he stuffs his hands in his pockets. “I hope Hyungwon is here, don’t want to have to explain myself to the rest of his crew.”

 

The doors of the hotel open with a creek as Yeosang pushes them open, boots clicking on the wood as he walks through. There at the front desk, is Hyungwon, slouched over with his hand on his cheek, looking bored as ever. When his dark eyes move to the door, they actually brighten.

 

“If it isn’t my favorite traveling doctor,” sitting up, Hyungwon grins, “what brings you into town?”

 

“I just got in with my crew,” Yeosang explains, vague as always.

 

Hyungwon nods in understanding. “Still jumping between crews?”

 

“As usual,” Yeosang lies easily, waving his hand and leaning on the counter. Knowing the reputation that Hongjoong has created for them, he knows if people knew he was a member of ATEEZ he’d be treated much different; he wouldn’t get any intel that he can easily get from anyone. With this knowledge about his crew, he’s positive that the stowaway hasn’t told Monsta X that she was on their ship either. “I thought I heard some of your crew mentioning an injured member? I think I know her and wanted to check up on her.”

 

That makes Hyungwon’s eyes widen in surprise as he leans back. “Oh,” he breathes out, squinting his eyes, “were you in the ship that saved her? I thought she said it sunk.”

 

“Oh, it did,” Yeosang laughs, “we hit a rock reef, I’m not sure if I’ll join them when they return. Haven’t decided yet,” he gives a mischievous smirk, which Hyungwon mirrors.

 

“Ah, tricky as always,” nodding his head he smiles. “I’ll let you head back and see her, but just be cautious, she is hurt bad.”

 

“I heard,” Yeosang grumbles, pushing off the counter, “I’m a little pissed she didn’t tell me about the ankle, I may just scold her.”

 

“Don’t be too mean,” Hyungwon calls to him in slightly melodic tone as he leans his chin back onto his hand.

 

Yeosang moves easily through the hotel doors, knowing the route to their medical section as well as most places he visits. Once he reaches the door in the dark hallway, he finds himself pausing to listen. From inside the room, just faintly he can hear something. Leaning closer, he presses his ear to the door to try and figure out the noise. Sobs. Crying. Another wave of worry washes over him for the stowaway, one he can’t explain fully, but he pushes it aside with a heavy sigh and opens the door.

 

Upon hearing the door opening, Alice jolts from her self-pity, self-hatred haze, at least enough to quickly wipe away her tears and turn her face away from the door.

 

“Are you guys back already?” She questions after clearing her throat, voice even softer than she’d let it be around anyone else.

 

Yeosang bites his lip, actually nervous to voice his presence, but he knows he needs to. “No. They aren’t back.”

 

Whipping around, Alice finds herself face to face with Yeosang.

 

“Oh no,” are the first words out of her mouth.

 

“No!” Yeosang waves his hands in defense, trying to lift his voice to a gentle tone. “No, I’m not, my Captain didn’t send me, I came here all on my own. The Captain has no idea you’re here, and I promise your crew has no idea I’m with them. Our secret is safe.”

 

Alice is weary still, body tense as she watches him walk over.

 

“May I sit?” He gestures to the stool still by her bed.

 

With a wary eye, she slowly nods her head as she sits up slowly, as not to jostle her ankle too much.

 

“I heard,” Yeosang moves and carefully sits on the stool, eyes sliding down to her ankle, “from a passing birdy on the street that you have a severely bad ankle injury. One that, if I remember correctly,” he lifts his eyes to lock with hers, “you decided to forgo mentioning. It also means, you had that ankle injury since before we took you in, which then, in turn, means you ran across the beach and through the jungle with that said ankle,” he’s frowning now. “As a doctor, I’m a little pissed.”

 

Alice huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, you are obviously aware of your crew’s infamous nature, so can you blame me for running when your Captain drew a gun on me?”

 

“Yes and no,” Yeosang shrugs, “it was a risky move, but I get why you did it. No real harm done I guess. At least the idiot didn’t shoot you.”

 

That statement has Alice shocked as she lets out a scandalized, “oh my god, that’s your Captain!”

 

Laughing gently, Yeosang’s eyes soften, and he smiles. “True, but he can sometimes be way too rash and headstrong,” he reaches into his coat and pulls out the maps from before, “but at least now that I’ve run into you, you can help me go over the maps once more.”

 

Carefully, Yeosang spreads the maps out on the bed next to Alice, she’s small enough to not take up most of the bed, so he has the room. She watches him with a much more relaxed pose, his easy-going nature making her let her guard down a bit.

 

“I’ll help you, but on one condition,” she offers.

 

Yeosang grins, smirks really. “I had a feeling that would be it, you really like making deals, don’t you?”

 

Alice shrugs with a soft smile of her own this time.

 

“Okay,” Yeosang nods, “what do you wanna know?”

 

“You’ve piqued my curiosity, for many reasons,” she starts, “firstly that you have two very important jobs on the ship: doctor and navigator.”

 

Opening his mouth in understanding, he nods his head a couple of times before closing it and thinking. “Well,” he drawls out, “I was raised by a doctor to be a doctor. Joined the crew as a Doctor, but they needed someone to help them navigate and learn the maps as the Captain couldn’t do it alone, so naturally, I learned. I’ll admit, at first I did it to save my skin and hopefully become, ya know, an irreplaceable part of the crew,” even he grimaces at that, “but in the end, I stayed because I care about all the crew, it’s my family honestly.”

 

Alice squints her eyes in disbelief. “I can’t see a ruthless pirate crew as a family, all the bloodthirsty stories I’ve heard.”

 

“They’re just stories,” Yeosang then tilts his head with a mischievous grin, “most of them anyways.”

 

A chill runs up Alice’s spin, her guards come back up as she straightens her spine. “Okay, so then, why does no one know you’re a part of that crew?”

 

“Too scared to even say our name,” Yeosang mutters as he crosses his arms over his chest, shaking his head. He sighs with an annoyed breath and lifts his voice to answer her, “I tell people I’m a traveling doctor who jumps from crew to crew, no affiliation means other doctors are willing to trade and help me. Makes my life easier, plus I get to make sure the crew has enough medical supplies to last.”

 

“That’s fair,” Alice admits, much to her distaste. Agreeing with a member of ATEEZ feels wrong, on many levels. “Shall we go over the maps then? So, you can return to your crew quickly.”

 

Sensing this is the end of her kind gestures, Yeosang agrees and leans back over the maps.

 

They spend the next short while going over and marking up the map. Alice, the kind natured soul she is deep inside, gives Yeosang quite a bit of info on some islands she knows around this area. The mysterious never hearted rock they crashed into, the Inagua Islands which have laid uninhabited for years, and a couple of other trouble spots that Monsta X have run into around this spot of the Atlantic. By the time they’re done, Alice actually feels relaxed and unguarded for the first time in a long time.

 

“Thank you, now rest that ankle until it heals. If I come back to find you still with the messed-up ankle, I’ll have Hyungwon tie you to the bed,” are Yeosang’s parting words before he ventures back out.

 

There’s a warmth that spreads through Alice’s chest at his words. She can’t even muster a response before he’ slipped out the door with almost silent steps, she can only stare after him in confusion. Why does he make her so relaxed? How can he make her drop her guard so easily? Without even realizing it? Shaking her head, she sighs in defeat, quietly hoping she never runs into him or ATEEZ again.

 

It’s not long after that Changkyun and Shownu finally return, much noisier than Yeosang had been. Their boots make the hall floors creak, and their voices are raised in tone, sounding as if they’re debating heavily. There’s another pair of steps following them, a total of three people. Before she can question who, the other party is, the door is thrown open, and Shownu and Changkyun have stopped arguing, though Changkyun looks irritated beyond belief.

 

Flowing into the room behind them is an old woman in typical gypsy clothes, dark blue cloak with gold accents and a hood over her curly grey hair. She looks innocent, flashing Alice a warm motherly smile as she sweeps past the boys to grab her hand.

 

“You must be the troubled soul, Alice,” she smiles, patting her hand, “you have much darkness in your soul.”

 

Alice is shocked into silence, eyebrows creasing in confusion and worry.

 

“Did you tell her, her name?” She hears Shownu whisper to Changkyun as they grab a small table to pull over, to which Changkyun shakes his head.

 

The lady continues to smile at Alice, even after she lets go of her hand and lets the boys set up the table before her. The room seems to grow eerily quiet and still, the air dropping a few degrees in temperature as she pulls a deck of cards from inside a small pouch Alice hadn’t noticed before, it’s black velvet, almost blending into her cloak. The cared are all black and white on the backs, and Alice can’t see the faces as she shuffles them, humming a little tune under her breath. Shownu and Changkyun stand at the foot of the bed, tense and on edge as they carefully watch.

 

Turning to Alice, the lady holds out the deck of cards, spread wide so every card can be seen. “Pick three and place them on the table in the order you picked.”

 

It takes her a second to lift her hand, he limbs suddenly feeling heavy with dread, but she does as asked of her and grabs three cards, placing each on the table before the lady. She then shuffles the deck once more and puts it on the corner of the table near the third card.

 

The first card is flipped over. “The fool,” the lady reads, voice airy as she speaks out in a haunting voice, “you were once ignorant. You had no idea what you possessed and how you could use it, so when it came time to use it you didn’t know how to. You were then scared, for fools don’t have backbones to hold onto when times get tough.”

 

A shiver runs down Alice’s spine, memories flashing in her mind of her first ever real navigation journey and how badly it failed. How many nightmares has she suffered through of that event now?

 

Without looking at Alice, the lady continues, flipping the second card. “Now, in your current state, we have the emperor. A power is ruling over you as a consequence for your actions, and you must yield to it. Hiding and running away is only making it stronger over you, it’ll only bring you closer to destruction.”

 

Alice let’s out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, something tight squeezing her chest as she stares at the cards, so easily, so clearly spelling out everything she thought had not been true. She has bad luck following her for a reason, a powerful reason.

 

“As for your future, I sense trouble,” she continues, “and a couple of outcomes, but overall it’s the high priestess,” she flips the last card. “Her power is hidden, but its rule is stronger than his, and she is who you will need to find to return to, to help heal your darkened soul,” at this her eyes go glassy, lifting to stare past all three of them into nothing. “You must return to her to figure out your final task, to prove yourself. The emerald isle calls you home, it’s been calling you have, but you have ignored, so the emperor persisted.”

 

“Ireland,” Alice whisper in shock.

 

“Once you return to your creators, they will guide you,” she reaches for the deck of card, lifting the top card and flipping it. As the card is placed on the table a chill wind whips around the room. “The hanged man is your alternate future if you do not return home. A sacrifice will need to be made no matter the path, but one you will survive and one you will not. Only time will tell,” she breathes in heavily, eyes blinking back to focus, “you must return home.”

 

Alice sits transfixed, scared.

 

The lady doesn’t speak another word, sweeping up the cards, reshuffling them, and then standing. She bows to Alice once, before turning and almost floating out the door. Shownu follows behind her, the ever-diligent Captain and owner, but Changkyun moves to Alice, worry etched on his face.

 

“You have to go home?” He asks, to clarify if he heard correctly.

 

“That’s,” Alice lets out a breath, feeling her throat close up, her airways restricted, “that’s what she said. Ireland. It’s my only other home, and Kinsale is like, a, a, it’s a long journey and you guys can’t,” she starts to breathe heavily, breath coming out in pants as she stares wide-eyed at Changkyun, “there’s no way I can get to Ireland.”

 

“We’ll find a way,” Changkyun quickly declares, dropping to sit on her bed, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and rubbing her arm.

 

The panic attack consumes Alice, her mind flooding with the ‘what if’s of this dire situation. If they can’t get her to Ireland, she might just die. At least, that’s how it sounded.

 

Changkyun whispers words of encouragement until Shownu returns, arms crossed and thumbnail in his mouth as he approaches them.

 

“I know,” he sighs, clearly frustrated, “I know we can’t get you to Ireland. That is a couple months, if not longer, so I can’t leave the hotel unattended by the crew for that long. What I can do – no – what I will do,” Shownu nods his head, determination clear on his face, “is have Wonho and Minhyuk hit the streets and bars, we’ll pay a crew to take you. I can even offer them a ship if they need it to go that far, but we will find a crew, and we will make sure it’s a crew who sticks by their word and won’t just drop you off somewhere. I promise you, Alice, we will figure this out.”

 

With the promise in the air, making Alice relax only slightly, Shownu instructs Changkyun to stay with her and to not leave her alone under any circumstances, then he takes his leave.

 

It doesn’t take Shownu long to collect Minhyuk and Wonho. The three meet out in front of the hotel to discuss the situation at hand. Minhyuk is the crews master gunner, and Wonho is their Quarter Master, the man Shownu trusts with his life. Minhyuk is average height but very skinny with dirty blonde hair and ratted clothes that make him look more like a street rat than a well-off pirate, while Wonho is dressed more casually in well-fitted clothes that show off his muscular form and tall stature making him look like any other citizen on the island.

 

“Alright, so we need to hire a crew to sail Alice from here to Ireland and back,” Shownu explains, “we won’t use her name, and if we do let’s call her Alex, to be safe. Minhyuk, you run around spread buzz about it, make it sound well worth they’re time.”

 

“My specialty,” Minhyuk grins, resting his arm on Wonho’s shoulder.

 

“Which bar do you want me at?” Wonho asks, straight to business.

 

“The main one, the huge one just off the docks where all the captains and quarter masters post up. Stick a sign up, let the bartenders know what you’re there for and see who comes,” Shownu reaches forward, placing a hand on his arm, “I trust your judgment.”

 

“Shownu,” Minhyuk whines, bottom lip jutting out, “we won’t let just anyone take care of Alice, we’ll do a thorough screening.”

 

With a heavy sigh and a chuckle, Shownu steps back. “Minhyuk, no knife fighting, and Wonho, no body slamming.”

 

“As always, but it will depend on the way the men act. They get rowdy at night,” Wonho smirks, giving quite a mischievous look before he turns away. He gives Minhyuk a quick head pat and “meet you in the bar,” before heading off.

 

The moon rises slowly in the sky, mirroring the rising interest as word spreads through the town. It starts slow, just a few sparks here and there, hushed words. Then it flares, like a fire catching dry grass and rips through the docks, the streets, the bars. It isn’t long before crews are flocking to the bar, lining up to put in their bid to win Monsta X’s money and prize. Wonho and Minhyuk are ruthless though, asking questions that fluster quarter masters, anger captains, and scare little crew members. One by one, crews turn tail and run or storm off in anger, leaving Wonho and Minhyuk to share laughter and drinks at their dispense. By the time the moon is high above, peaking and beginning to dip down, most of the crews have moved on to brothels or their beds. The rowdy atmosphere has sobered, and it’s only the cracking of the fires and the occasional chatter and metal sounds of the stranglers still drinking, some waiting to see who gets the bid with Monsta X.

 

All throughout this event, the few members of ATEEZ have posted themselves in a dark corner of the room. San sits with his feet propped up on the table, nursing a bear close to his chest as he eyes all the people in the bar. Hongjoong sits in the corner of the table, two chair legs off the ground as he leans back, arms crossed and eyes locked on Wonho and Minhyuk. Mingi sits next to him, across from San, drink less and sober as he calculates the competition if they can be called that.

 

“We’d need supplies,” San states before taking another drink.

 

Hongjoong scoffs, “we need a ship, San. Then yeah, of course, we’d need supplies.”

 

“Ireland is,” Mingi tilts his head in thought, “a long journey, couple months isn’t it? Without distraction or storm? Ah,” he clicks his tongue, jerking his head, “where is Yeosang?”

 

San laughs, light and airy which alongside his rosy cheeks show how much he’s been drinking, “probably lost among the book store shelves, come on Mingi you know him.”

 

Mingi and Hongjoong hum and nod their head in agreeance.

 

They watch as another hopefully is shied away by Wonho’s harsh wording.

 

The chair legs of Hongjoong’s seat clack on the floor as he drops his arms on the table, tapping Mingi. “We want a ship and three months of supplies to get up to Ireland. We pick out the ship from their armada and what specialties it’ll have. Go.”

 

Without further instruction, Mingi stands to his full height, setting his shoulders as he walks to the two who are now laughing and point to where the last man just left. AS Mingi stands before them, they stop conversing and immediately turn to him.

 

He opens his mouth to speak, but Wonho holds up a hand.

 

“Before you speak, let me explain to you what this journey will consist of,” Wonho drops his hands and leans back. “You will sail from here to Ireland, a couple months journey there and a couple months journey back. Our precious cargo will be with you the entire way, which is a person and if we find you dropped them off somewhere, there will be hell to pay,” the words are seethed out, as if tired and angry. “Now, you will sail through British waters with a person who has a mark on their head, so you and your crew need to be good actors who can play the part of an innocent ship or have a ship that can defend for itself. The journey back, we believe will be easier,” he sighs then. “This part scares most people off, there will be a lot of bad things that may happen, things may go wrong, a lot. You need to be good at correcting mistakes and not taking them out on them, they aren’t completely to blame I promise, despite most men’s views on the matter.”

 

“So, the cargo is a woman?” Mingi cuts in, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Yes,” Minhyuk pipes up, looking ready to throw hands with Mingi at any second, “is that an issue?”

 

“My Captain doesn’t believe in silly superstitions,” Mingi states, matter-of-factly.

 

“Good,” Wonho smiles, “so, other than superstitions. Does this perilous journey sound like something your Captain and crew can do?”

 

“Of course,” Mingi waves his hand as if it’s nothing, starting both Minhyuk and Wonho, “we have a couple of crew members with bounties on their heads, one more won’t hurt. As well, my Captain has business in Britain to handle, this gives us the opportunity to deal with that matter.”

 

Wonho nods, pleased. “Then what are your conditions?”

 

“Three months’ supply of food and water, to last us at least to Ireland and a little after to get to a good trade port. The biggest thing we’ll need is a ship, we would pick form your fleet,” Mingi grins, cocky and smug.

 

Minhyuk gives him a skeptical look. “Do you not have a ship?”

 

“A recent issue as taken ours from us,” is his vague explanation, “we are here to procure one.”

 

Wonho turns to Minhyuk, and they seem to share a telepathic conversation before turning back to Mingi.

 

“One last question,” Wonho seems weary, eyeing the table Mingi had come from, “what’s your crew’s name?”

 

“Ah,” Mingi chuckles, dropping his head, “your Captain, Shownu, isn’t gonna be happy about this for sure, but I think you boys are out of options. I speak as a part of ATEEZ.”

 

The bar falls almost near silent as the onlookers watch the scene play out. Everyone knows who ATEEZ is and everyone who knows Monsta X knows how they feel about ATEEZ. With bated breath, everyone waits as both Minhyuk and Wonho don matching sneers as they stare up at Mingi. The look at each other again, then they lean closer to each other with hushed, fast whispers. Mingi grins, quite proud of himself as he waits. Back over at the table, San watches them closely while Hongjoong simply lays his head on his arms mullet fanning out over his arm as he puts his head on the side, closing his eyes and almost taking a nap, seeming uninterested in the exchange. After Minhyuk and Wonho get done discussing, they share heavy eye contact, raising the tension of the bar.

 

Finally, Wonho growls, “well, since it seems there are no other capable crews here, you may be our only choice,” he grits out.

 

“Our Captain will definitely not be happy,” Minhyuk adds, “but you seem to be the only one with a reasonable request and skills.”

 

Wonho stands up, glaring at Mingi, “have your Captain meet us at our docks at noon, and he can pick out a ship.”

 

“We need a few days,” Mingi smiles, knowing now he can get whatever they ask for, “to go collect the rest of our crew and supplies lost, but we’ll return quickly. Then our men will want a few extra days to rest here before the voyage.”

 

“A week,” Wonho declares, “you’ll have a week to get your crew, get back, and rest. In a week you set sail.”

 

With that settled, Wonho storms past him and outside, Minhyuk trailing behind him long enough to throw Mingi a glare of his own and then bolting out.

 

As Mingi turns back to head for his table, the tired old bar is alight again with noises and whispers. People run back and forth, in and out as word spreads that the infamous ATEEZ has won the bid.

 

Hongjoong smiles as he opens his eyes, watching Mingi open his arms, do a little dance as he approaches. San is smiling too, holding out his beer.

 

“Cheers to our lovely First Mate!” He declares in a high voice.

 

“Aye,” Hongjoong nods, “good job.”

 

Mingi gives himself a literal pat on his back before flagging down a waitress. “My job is done, I need a drink.”


	8. Chapter Seven: Fates Aligned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: this chapter took me for f**king ever to write, I’m not gonna lie I think this one stressed me out a lot cause it was just a lot of info I needed before the story really kicks off, and I have info dumps and long paragraphs, I’m such a dialogue writer it’s sad haha but in the end I hope you guys liked this chapter! The songs for this one are a bit different but these are the ones that helped me get through this one to the end. next chapter I’m looking forward to writing!~ Now, it’s midnight and I better get some sleep <3
> 
> Song(s): “Chronosaurus” by Stray Kids, “Fine” by NU’EST, “Ocean” by Parachute, “Face My Fears - English Version” by Hikaru Utada, and “Pirate King” by ATEEZ

* * *

 

When the sun rises over the island the following day, ATEEZ joins Monsta X – and their very disgruntled Captain – at their private docks, just a few kilometers from the main docks of Tortuga. There’s a light breeze running through the lines of ships, ruffling their hair and making the waves sway gently around them. The waves, the wind running through the leaves, the wind in the sails, and the seagulls circling the docks create a perfect ambient background noise around them.  The first thing Hongjoong did once they arrived was list off the specifics he was looking for in his ship: two mast ships at least, something that wouldn’t be suspicious and would work great after their journey, as well as rooms to spare and swivel cannons. With that information in mind Jooheon and Kihyun – Monsta X’s master rigger and carpenter respectively – spout off the facts about each ship and their features as they guide ATEEZ through the impressive lineup of captured and taken ships. They move across planks form one ship to another, then up and down the docks seeing everything from Frigates to Brigs.

It’s as they step off of a smaller Brig and back onto the docks that Hongjoong stops, holding his arm out to hold his crew back.

“That one,” he states matter-of-factly as his eyes look down the dock where, stationed at the end, sits a gem to be had. “That’s a Spanish Galleon, isn’t it?”

“Aye,” Jooheon grins, crossing his muscular arms as he grins widely, “that one was my haul.”

There’s a scoffing kind of laugh from behind him where Kihyun is rolling his eyes.

Ignoring his crewmate, Jooheon continues to speak, “we just returned with that one not long ago, she was fully loaded with supplies and everything.”

“So, she’s a Spanish armed cargo ship?” Hongjoong asks as he moves across the dock towards the ship in question.

“Yeah,” Jooheon confirms.

The ship is still fresh from capture, having come back with them on their last run full of supplies, so it’s in reasonably clean condition. There aren’t too many nicks and dents in it, and it looks well kept. As Hongjoong boards the ship he feels a sense of peace wash over him. This is his ship.

“This one, I’ll take this one.”

Shownu raises a brow at him, from his spot on the dock, “really? That fast?”

“Trust me,” Mingi cuts in as Hongjoong moves onto the ship and up towards the stern and helm, “he knows when a ship is meant to be his. Call it,” he hums, tilting his head back and forth, “intuition if you will.”

Hongjoong climbs the stairs with ease, his red coat billowing behind him more as he rises up to the top deck where the wind is not blocked. He stands in front of the wheel, eyeing it for a minute before looking out past the docks to the opening leading to the Atlantic. With gentle hands, he grabs the wheel and tests the feel, shifting it slightly as he looks down to his hands. He squeezes the wheel, feeling the smooth wood under his palm, then he grins and feels his whole body to relax.

San stands on the stairs, leaning over the railing as he watches his Captain, smiling. “What do you want to call her?”

“Do not say Treasure Hunter again,” Mingi pipes up from below near the main mast, “I get that was your father’s ship, but I always felt it wasn’t right to rename a ship after someone else’s. It brings some misfortune with that kind of thievery.”

Rolling his eyes, Hongjoong drapes his arms over the wheel, eyeing the Monsta X crew, who’s walking down the dock away from them and discussing amongst themselves. “I know, but I thought it was best at the time so hush,” he then hums, resting his chin on one of the wheel pegs, thinking deeply.

“Does he even have a name?” San fake whispers, turning to Mingi. “I bet he’s never thought his ship would sink.”

“Probably,” Mingi smirks, “would serve his cocky ass right that is sunk.”

Hongjoong pushes himself back, holding onto the wheel as he leans back on his heels. “Disrespectful, both of you.”

“You won’t do anything about it,” San singsongs with a bright smile, eyes squinting up at him.

What Hongjoong won’t admit is that he hadn’t thought too hard about another name. Sure, in the passing conversation or drunk conversation maybe, but never seriously. As he tries to think of something that’s more him than his father, his brain struggles to come up with anything. He desperately digs into his mind, trying to come up with a name, he refuses to sail without giving her a name.

“I think I see smoke,” Mingi laughs, smiling now with San.

“Oh, come on,” Hongjoong whines as he stands up straight, letting go of the wheel, “don’t be mean.”

San snorts, “sure, Captain.”

With a huff and a strong urge to roll his eyes again, Hongjoong runs a hand through his hair a couple of times as he lets his eyes scan over the ship.

For the first time, this one is all his ship. His choice. Nothing resembling his father’s old ship, not something that was handed to him, this is all his own choices and his desires.

“Desire,” he whispers out, pausing, then grinning. “I’ll call her The Desire.”

Mingi laughs, shaking his head as he moves up the stairs to join him by the wheel. “Are you kidding?”

Looking up at him, San frowns, “Mingi, he’s not kidding.”

“What’s wrong with The Desire?” Hongjoong huffs, crossing his arms and leaning on his right leg, effectively pulling an annoyed sassy stance.

“No offense,” Mingi starts, holding up his hands, “but a desire should be a pretty girl. A girl you meet and steal away from her safe life and make her love the sea as much as you do.”

“Or a bunch of girls at a port, be it cute innocent little ones or the ladies at the brothel,” San offers to add to Mingi’s claim, “all fair desires. Even a pretty boy can be a great desire to be had.”

“Exactly,” Mingi points at San, then looks to Hongjoong again who’s lightly glaring at him now. “It needs to be a person of flesh, not one of wood that can’t do anything for you.”

“She can do things for me,” Hongjoong defends, “she’ll get me where I need to go and help me complete my journeys.”

“Look,” San cuts in, finally moving up the last few steps to be on the same floor as them, “I get this is a monumental moment, Seonghwa will be proud, no lie, but that is just the cheesiest name ever. Hongjoong, you have to realize that.”

“True, but this is my choice,” he huffs out, withholding the urge to whine again. “I can go where I desire, pick my crew as I desire, and fill this ship with what I desire. It’s all my desires, so she’ll be called The Desire,” his voice leads with that tone of finality to it, showing that he won’t budge on this one.

“Sometimes I forget you are a romantic under that hard-brutal exterior,” Mingi says, with a soft smile on his face as he admires his Captain.

“Well I mean, you saw how he reacted to the stowaway,” San shrugs, putting his hands in his pocket as he leans back on the railing in front of the wheel, “it’s fair that sometimes we forget our Captain has a good heart.”

“I wasn’t that harsh,” Hongjoong defends, but only halfheartedly. He is more than aware, now that he’s had time to calm down, that he was rather irrational and cruel. There are times where he lets the pure rage from years ago that he keeps under lock and key take over, turn him cold-hearted and bloodthirsty. Sometimes he can’t even control it, and he is more than aware that those are the days he needs to be watched over, this past encounter was for sure one of those times, and he hasn’t entirely calmed down form it yet.

Reaching up, Hongjoong gently grasps the bronze pendant hanging against his skin, slightly hidden by the flaps of his shirt, holding it tight as he looks out to the sea again.

“Let’s collect the crew you got and find Yeosang and head out,” he declares, not moving, “we need to head back asap. So, make it quick.”

Mingi and San give conformation sounds before disembarking and moving back to the dock, heading to town to return shortly. Hongjoong watches them head off; he sees that Shownu has his eyes locked on him, glaring daggers at him. They hold eye contact for a good few minutes before Shownu moves his gaze back to his crew members to speak to them.

“This may be a strange alliance,” Hongjoong muses, leaning back over the wheel again.

By the time the sun reaches its midway point, ATEEZ is already set off for the island and the rest of their crew. Monsta X doesn’t see them off; instead, they head back to the town to return to their other duties.

The one to inform Alice of their progress is Changkyun. Strolling into the med bay, he smiles at Alice, who’s sitting up in her bed with a book in her hands. Upon Changkyun stepping in, she looks up, eyes hopeful.

“Were you guys able to scrounge up a crew?” She asks, voice light and weary as if she had barely slept. “I mean, I know it would’ve been really quick, so I won’t be disappointed if you didn’t.”

“Calm down, Alex,” he laughs, moving to sit on the stool by her bed, “we got you a crew.”

Alice relaxes instantly, body sagging visibly in relief. “Oh, thank god, I was honestly scared no one would do it. I seriously thought it would be too hard. When you add up my bad luck, my being a woman, the bounty on my head, and the British waters, god even I’m nervous to deal with it.”

Changkyun smiles brightly, watching her as he shakes his head.

“So,” closing her book, she turns to him, “who’s the crew?”

Sucking in a breath, Changkyun lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head, “Captain wants that kept secret until you meet them. They’ll be back in port by midday tomorrow.”

Alice moves her head back and squints her eyes. “Wait, they left?”

“They had cargo to collect to be fully prepared for the trip,” Changkyun explains. “We paid them in a ship, and we’ll fill it with supplies for the journey when they return.”

“That’s,” Alice feels worry fill her, “an odd deal,” she silently prays that it’s not ATEEZ. Though she’s positive her Captain would turn down ATEEZ if they offered, and it doesn’t sound exactly like ATEEZ, plus, many people come here looking for ships from Monsta X. It could be anyone. Once she thinks that, she nods her head, “okay, so tomorrow I’ll hobble my way up to the docks with you guys?”

Laughing, Changkyun nods his head, grinning, “hobble, yes. We’ll get your crutches so you won’t totally screw up your ankle more.”

“Thanks, my prince,” her voice drips with sarcasm as she rolls her eyes and opens her book again, “Hyungwon said I can go home tomorrow anyway. Says the swelling will have gone down, but he still wants me to rest a few days before we set sail.”

“The crew wants to rest too,” Changkyun hums, “so I think maybe two to four days on land, including tomorrow, before you guys set sail.”

“Sounds fair.”

The rest of their day is a long drag for Alice. She sits in the same bed she was placed in to start unable to stand or move, restricted by Hyungwon. She’s curious about who the crew is, and she hates that she knows if she could walk around town the gossip would come to her, and she’d know, but she has been put on bed rest until the next sunrise.

By the time the sun does rise again, Alice is nervous. Her thoughts run a mile a minute thinking of just who she will be sailing with for such a long time, almost half a year is a long time to sail with a crew. She has never been on a journey this long, and this far since her first voyage. That was a very long time ago, and she tries not to think much of it now, so she shoves those thoughts away as she braces for the day’s events.

Changkyun and Hyungwon collect her as the sun begins its ascent into the sky. She’s given a sturdy pair of crutches to walk with, keeping her foot off the ground, but Changkyun holds his arm up, hand at her back to catch her at a moment’s notice. They head into the main port, on the far side where fewer ships dock so they can load it quickly and efficiently without much disturbance. Alice sits down on a stray crate behind her crew as they wait. The wait is long enough for Minhyuk to run into the market and return with fruit and bread for everyone to snack on as they chill on the docks.

When the sun is almost to its peak, sails appear on the horizon. Shownu takes a telescope and looks through, grumbling under his breath about what a bad idea this is.

“They’re here,” is all Shownu says. He passes the scope to Changkyun and moves to stand where the ship will dock.

From Alice’s place sitting down with Hyungwon and Changkyun standing in front of her, she can’t get a clear view of the ship as it sails into the port. She hears voices calling out orders for sails to be raised and the anchor to be lowered as the ship coasts to the dock. Ropes are thrown overboard, caught by Jooheon and Wonho to tie the ship down as a few crew members pull the plank out and slid it out to rest on the dock. The boys still mostly block Alice’s view, she can only see a few crew members near the bow, but she mostly takes note of the ship itself.

“You gave them that?” She whispers in awe.

“I know, right?” Hyungwon chuckles, shaking his head. “I still think this is too risky.”

Changkyun nods, “so does Captain, but we really had no choice,” with a sigh he crosses his arms over his chest and steps forward with Hyungwon, giving Alice full view of the ship.

Alice’s heart sinks instantly. The red flag sways high above, and the red-coated Captain strides across the deck, calling out orders, leaving no mistaking who the crew is. She can’t even form words of shock, the shock isn’t even her main emotion. All she can feel is dread consume her. Trying to calm down, she scrambles with shaking hands to grab her crutches, hobbling to her feet and quickly moving to hide behind her taller crewmates, hopefully hiding long enough for them not to notice her, but she knows they’ll know eventually.

“Shownu,” Hongjoong greets as him, and his quartermaster steps down the plank to the dock, “I’m back with my full crew as promised. I am a man of my word, I hope this gives you at least a little faith in me.”

“Only a little,” Shownu seethes out.

Nodding his head, Hongjoong places his hands behind his back. “Do I get to meet this precious cargo we shall be escorting to Ireland?”

It takes Shownu a minute to unclench and nod his head, turning to look at Alice through Changkyun and Hyungwon.

She feels sick, her face looks pale, and her hands are sweating. There’s a strong urge to vomit bubbling in her stomach as Shownu flicks his head, motioning for the boys to move away. As they sidestep, Changkyun pushing Alice forward with a gentle hand, she lets out a shaky breath and looks up.

The first thing she sees is Hongjoong’s cold stare, then Seonghwa’s surprised wide eyes and open mouth. From behind them, she hears a few gasps and hears someone shout “you!” Mingi, she figures out, is the one shouting, pointing at her from his place on the plank. On the ship stands what seems to be the main parts of his crew, all of them watching her with shocked expressions. Fear and dread combine, and Alice doesn’t even register that she’s shaking under Hongjoong’s glare.

“You have got to be kidding me,” is what he ends up breathing out, laughing coldly as he tosses his head back. “Well, this sure is a turn of events.”

“Do you,” Shownu is confused, looking between the pair, “have you two met?”

“Oh, we’ve met,” Seonghwa growls, glaring at her as well now, “we are well acquainted.”

“I think our terms will have to change,” Hongjoong declares, loudly, so all are focused on him, “as this little stowaway here had an agreement with me that needs to be honored before I finish my deal with you.”

“Alice,” Shownu’s voice has turned cold, and so she looks to the floor, “what did you do?”

“I’ll explain,” Hongjoong swoops in, but not to save her, “we captured her from a Royal Navy ship, then suddenly I was in a battle I shouldn’t have been in, and she lost me my ship. Our deal was this: if I ever run into her and she does turn out to be a part of a crew, then her crew owes me a new ship,” Hongjoong points behind him to the Spanish Galleon, “that will be what is paid for by your crew members deal. As payment for taking her to Ireland, because I am a man of my word and despite the bad luck she brings, I will do it, I will need something more.”

The air is tense, dense, and Alice can’t breathe.

Shownu looks between them again, then turns fully to Alice. “Is this true?”

She isn’t able to speak, so she just nods her head while still looking down.

Shownu lets out a bitter laugh. “Your curse has, this is just, wow,” he laughs again shaking his head. Then he turns back to Hongjoong, “what do you want?”

“You run trade here, correct?” Seonghwa asks, tilting his head.

“Yes,” Shownu breaths out through his teeth.

Seonghwa nods, smiling, “we have a small village that needs a trade route, it’s not far from here. You agree to set up trade with us and share your supplies, and we can call it even.”

All of Monsta X begin to whisper, and Wonho moves to stand by Shownu, whispering furiously to him, but all he does his hold up a hand to him, silencing him.

“If we agree, the trade route, the ship, the supplies, you get it all, and you’ll take her to Ireland to fix her curse, is that a promise?” Shownu questions, for clarification.

Hongjoong nods. “As I said, I am a man of my word. Plus, I know you’re out of options, so I’d still be happy to help.”

Alice slowly looks up at Shownu, she fully expects him to decline, to say no. There’s a part of her though, one that she isn’t sure she understands, that hopes she can go. All she wants is to fix this curse and return.

There’s another long, tense silence before Shownu steps forward and holds out his hand. “It’s a deal.”

Grinning widely, Hongjoong shakes his hand. “Done.”

Shownu pulls his hand back quickly, shaking his head as he turns to Alice. ATEEZ begin to move around again, the background voices of whispers filling the air again as Shownu marches up to Alice.

“You go off, get kidnapped and have a run in with ATEEZ,” the words are dripping with rage, his eyes blown wide as he tries to withhold his wrath, but it’s enough to have Alice shrinking back. “You got mixed up with the one crew I told you to avoid, you have now set us back by miles with this screw up in the trade. We do not have the supplies to do this, but I can’t stand you being here messing things up anymore.”

Alice’s eyes widen at the harsh words, “Captain!”

“No!” Shownu snaps, glaring down at her. “I am no longer your Captain, you agreed to a deal that would effectively hurt our crew, your bad luck and this stupid curse of yours is too much for me to deal with anymore. From this moment forward, I denounce you as a member of Monsta X.”

“Captain!” Changkyun steps forward to protest, but Shownu levels him with the same glare he gave Alice.

“Do not get in the middle of this,” then he turns back to Alice, “until you fix this and until you fix yourself, you are no longer a member of my crew, and I do not want to see you associate with my crew.”

By this point, Alice is shaking, and tears are beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. She’s been on the wrong side of an angry Captain before, but this is something that wasn’t completely in her control, and all she feels is worthless and betrayed.

Turning away from her, Shownu addresses his crew, “Monsta X move what they need onto the ship, finish our inventory and start figuring out the trade routes,” then he turns and walks away.

Wonho rushes after him, but the rest of the crew stands shocked in their place. Before anyone can move to check on Alice, Shownu brushes off Wonho to turn around and call to his crew, pulling everyone away.

“I’ll,” Changkyun hesitates, hand hovering over her shoulder as he looks at her, “I’ll come by your place tonight and check on you.”

“Don’t,” Alice breaths out, voice shaking, “I don’t need you to get kicked off the crew. I’m fine,” she lies, and everyone standing there knows it’s a lie too.

“Alice,” Changkyun starts, but she shushes him.

Shaking her head, she lets out a shaky breath, “go.”

Reluctantly, Changkyun places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it before running to catch up with the crew.

Standing on the docks alone, Alice feels the breeze pick up, sending a chill through her thin clothes, making her cold all over. Not a single member of the ATEEZ crew speaks to her, but Hongjoong is watching her closely. Gathering up what courage she has, she swallows back the bile in her throat and turns to him.

“When do we set sail?” She asks quietly.

Hongjoong looks back to his crew, gauging them and their states. “Two, maybe three days. We’ll stay in the hotel by the main bar, we should discuss the details of our journey. From your curse to where exactly we are taking you.”

“Okay, we can do that –”

“Later,” a voice cuts in. Yeosang descends from the plank to stand by them, eyeing Hongjoong. “We can discuss it later; your ankle still needs rest. We’ll talk at the bar, the whole crew and you to discuss everything tomorrow, right Captain?”

Yeosang’s eyes are pleading as he looks at his Captain. They stare at each other for a few minutes before he nods his head.

“Later,” he says, waving off Alice.

“Okay,” she breathes out, “later it is,” then she turns and hobbles away as fast as she can.

Once she’s out of earshot, Hongjoong rounds on Yeosang. “Seriously?”

“Captain, she literally was just ripped apart by her former Captain,” Yeosang sighs. “Do you have no heart?”

Seonghwa makes a noise of warning to Yeosang as he moves back to the ship, while Mingi and the rest of the crew watch them closely.

“People get ripped apart like that all the time, she isn’t special, and she should’ve seen this coming,” is his defense. “I’m not apologizing for what I did. Life is hard, she’ll obviously have to get used to it.”

Yeosang rolls his eyes and takes a deep, calming breath, ready to rip into him, but another crew member steps up instead.

“Captain,” it’s the sweet voice of Wooyoung, leaning over the ship and calling to them, “I think you need a detox. Since we had our cargo stolen that first time you’ve been severely on edge. I’m worried you’re slipping again.”

Yeosang, as well as a few others, make noises of agreement.

Hongjoong sighs, lowing his head, “alright, I’ll take a step back. Seonghwa, aren’t you supposed to keep my temper in check?”

Seonghwa snorts, shaking his head. “You snapped at me last time I stepped in, so I was just gonna let it ride out until you figured it out and fixed it yourself. Turns out, Wooyoung is smarter than you.”

With a laugh, Hongjoong looks to his master gunner. “Thank you.”

“Don’t’ thank me yet,” Wooyoung grumbles, pushing off and heading back to the hatch down into the ship.

“Rest,” Yeosang urges, “take a nap, something to relax until we get the ship in order, and then we’ll go to the bar, and you can drink to your heart content.”

“Alright,” nodding once he turns back to the ship.

Yeosang watches him and motions Mingi to follow him while Seonghwa takes over the crew. Then he turns back to where Alice disappeared and sighs.

Back at her place, Alice drops onto her sofa and buries her face in her hands. The existential dread of her situation sinks in slowly, heavily, making her shoulder feel heavy, and her legs numb. For the first time in a long time, she has no one to turn to and no crew to call her own, she has been sailing with Monsta X for so long that she forgot that she could ever be kicked off the crew. Shivering and blinking back tears, she gets onto her shaky feet and hobbles into her room. Without a care for the rest of the world, she falls into bed and burrows into her blankets. Wrapped up in bed she is oblivious to the passing of time, the only sign that the sun has gone down is the sound of the lamp runner’s bike peddling through. She stays there, letting her emotions take hold and drown her again. The tears come, in ugly sobs, and she just allows them to take over. If she’s going to survive close to half a year at sea with them then she just needs to get rid of all her chaotic emotions related to her curse, let it all out so that she can be level headed and unemotional in the face of the hostile crew she’ll be joining.

It isn’t until the sun reaches its peak the following day that she rises from her bed. She slept the first dreamless, exhausted sleep in a long time, so she takes advantage of her new energy and starts packing up what little she has to take with her. Clothes and her navigation journals are all she really has to pack though, so it isn’t much to slip into cases and boxes.

There’s a soft rapping of knuckles on her door though, that startles her. She stares down the door for a minute before the knocking comes again.

“Alice?” A soft familiar voice calls out.

With surprise evident on her face, Alice shuffles to her feet and over to the door. Slowly she grasps the handle and pulls it open, looking up. “Yeosang?”

Upon seeing her, Yeosang grins widely. “Ah, so this is the right house. Had to ask around to figure out where you lived, but I found you.”

“Why are you?” Alice sighs, leaning on her good foot.

“My Captain wants to take today to go over the terms of the deal with you, Monsta X told him to speak to you about the details,” he explains, voice gentle and soft. His eyes flick down to her ankle, and he frowns. “You aren’t using your crutches.”

“Thank you, mister, obvious,” Alice remarks, rolling her eyes. “My ankle’s fine.”

“No, it’s not,” Yeosang looks back at her, “you aren’t putting pressure on it, and it’s still wrapped. It’s not healed.”

Ignoring his observations, Alice turns and steps back into her house, leaving the door open for him to follow. “Let me finish making sure I have all my things packed. I just have a couple of cases for my clothes and books, not much to add to the ship.”

Yeosang steps inside, closing the door behind him as he lets his eyes scan over her little home. “Okay, we should have a couple days more before we have to load all your belongings onto the ship, so no worries.”

Alice hums in acknowledgment as she walks over to her couch, picking up her boots and sitting down to slip them on. Once on, she grabs her white coat and tosses it on as well before standing. When she turns back, Yeosang has her crutches in hand.

“No.”

“Yes.”

They stare each other down for a minute. Yeosang raises a brow at her, challenging her to fight him.

“If you weren’t a doctor,” the rest of her argument is grumbled under her breath as she hops on one foot over to him and snatches the crutches.

Smiling, Yeosang moves to the door and waves for her to follow. “Let’s go.”

Together, they make their way through town back to the docks. Yeosang, who usually moves through a town with fast and long strides, takes shorter, slower steps to not strain Alice’s strength. It makes them take longer to reach their destination, but Alice is silently grateful.

The seagulls are louder today, the sea even calmer and barely moving with gentle waves that bring in scarcely any noise. The docks themselves are noisy, the sound of conversation creating a buzzing background as they walk through the crowd of pirates and sailors towards ATEEZ’s ship.

As Alice looks at the ship, noting that it’s been turned around to face the ocean instead of the island, she can see that there is no nameplate on the back of the ship. Not every ship has one, not every pirate showcases their name so openly, but she’s always curious about ship names. After a second of hesitation, she asks, “what’s the new ship’s name?”

“The Desire,” Yeosang declares, chuckling, “a little cheesy if you ask me.”

Alice hums. “It seems right like it fits your Captain.”

Yeosang looks at her, raised brow and questions bouncing around his head but he doesn’t voice them. Instead, he gently places a hand on Alice’s back and guides her up the plank and onto the ship.

Standing on the main deck are seven other men. Alice lists off their names in her head as her eyes scan over each of them. Yunho and Wooyoung, standing near the main mast and immediately turning their attention to her. San is hovering around close to Wooyoung, but his ears and eyes are trained on the other men in front him standing by the stairs up to the helm, which are Mingi and Seonghwa. Jongho is behind all of them, leaning on the railing with his arms crossed, just watching. Her eyes then sweep over to the final man, Hongjoong, the Captain, standing just under the helm by the door to his quarters. Yunho moves first, walking up to Alice and guiding her over to a crate to sit on by the main mast as Yeosang announces her presence.

Hongjoong takes a deep, long breath before opening his eyes and walking over. The rest of the crew follows standing around Alice, with Wooyoung and Yunho on her left and Yeosang on her right.

“Let’s start with the main crew you’ll need to know,” Seonghwa speaks for Hongjoong, nodding to him. “Our Captain, Hongjoong. I’m the quartermaster, Seonghwa and Mingi here is our first mate and helmsman.”

Mingi simply nods his head.

“You know our doctor and navigator Yeosang well now. Yunho was the one who gave you food,” Yunho makes a noise of surprise at being caught, “he’s our cook and carpenter. Wooyoung is our master gunner, I believe you two ran into each other once already. Then we have Jongho,” he turns to the tall one still leaning on the rail, “he’s our strongest, youngest, and our fighter. And lastly, we have San our master rigger.”

San simply gives a small wave.

“Captain,” Seonghwa turns to Hongjoong, “the floor is yours.”

Hongjoong pops his necks, sighing again as he looks at Alice.

“First things first, I want you to explain exactly what curse your former Captain spoke of, why you need to go to Ireland, and where exactly in Ireland we are going,” his voice is cold, measured and tense making Alice look down.

Humming, she rubs her hands on her legs as she thinks. “So basically, my curse is bad luck for myself and people associated with me. Though,” she sighs, lifting her head to look up as she really thinks, “it’s not a simple mishap here or a lost footing there, though it does happen its more impossible scenarios becoming possible. Something that shouldn’t have happened does,” she looks at Hongjoong but quickly looks away. “I imagine you finding the Navy ship was gonna happen, but you getting caught by another Navy ship wasn’t supposed to happen. Monsta X associating with you guys was never supposed to happen, but here it is,” she shakes her head. “The impossible is possible around me and never in good ways, that mixed with little bad luck moments sprinkled in. I was told that it’s because I’ve lost my sight of home, so I’m going to Ireland to return home.”

“So, things that would never happen, happen around you?” Mingi asks, for clarification.

“Yes,” Alice whispers.

“Alright,” Hongjoong nods his head, crossing his arms, “so we need to be prepared for anything on their journey. Everyone will need to be vigilant. Now, where in Ireland is home for you?”

“Kinsale, Ireland. It’s not too far from Cork if you know where that is,” she looks over to Yeosang to make sure he got that.

“I know where Cork is,” he smiles reassuringly at her before turning to Hongjoong. “You wanted to sail to the colonies first, correct?”

“Yeah I have business there so we can sail up the coast for a bit before banking towards Ireland,” he explains simply.

“As for my sleeping arrangements and duties aboard,” Alice ventures, “will I be sleeping in the crew cots or elsewhere, and where would you want me to work to help around the ship?”

That piques Seonghwa’s interest as he steps forward. “You want to work?”

“Of course,” Alice is slightly offended, glaring up at him, “I grew up on ships, I know how to help run a ship, and obviously I can’t just freeload. I need to repay you guys somehow.”

Mingi and Seonghwa both make murmurs of surprise, but their faces are still guarded.

San then steps forward, “she could help with the rigging–”

“No,” Hongjoong growls, “if bad things happen around her, I’d rather keep it under deck, so she doesn’t cause too much trouble. If she were to fall overboard, I might just leave her. That includes with the crew, I want her to sleep in her own room away from the crew, don’t need her causing more trouble and have everyone on guard all the time.”

“She can help me with navigation task and–”

“Definitely not,” he doesn’t even let Yeosang finish, “I don’t care if she got us off the island, I’d rather her not be that deep into our crew.”

“I’m right here, ya know,” Alice hisses quietly.

Only Yunho and Wooyoung seem to hear her as they both stifle laughs and cover their mouths, looking away from their Captain. Wooyoung then raises a hand, high voice calling out, “she’ll be a great help with me under deck. I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble.”

“Okay,” Hongjoong sighs again, glaring at Alice. “Anything else that you want to share?”

“Just one thing,” Alice holds up a hand then hesitantly puts it down as she speaks, “when out at sea I usually go by Alex, just to make it easier for other crews. If they here a woman’s name, it causes trouble, but if they hear a male name, they don’t think twice, and you won’t have to deal with the backlash from others.”

Hongjoong laughs, a scoffing kind of laugh. “You are not a part of my crew, I don’t fully consider you a pirate or a sailor, so I will not call you by a pirate name. You guys,” his eyes sweep over his crew, “can do as you please but I refuse to call you Alex,” he lets the name out through his teeth, turning to glare again at Alice. “Is that everything?”

“That should be,” Alice says quietly, glancing around the crew and feeling the heavy tense air.

“Good then,” Hongjoong spins on his heel, walking off the ship, “I’ll be at the bar if anyone needs me.”

The crew is silent as they watch him walk away. Alice rubs her legs harder, trying to remind herself to keep her emotions in and not let it get the better of her.

To her surprise, Seonghwa is the first to speak, “I understand where our Captain is coming from, but I do think it’d be safer to call her Alex from this point forward.”

Everyone on the crew murmurs in agreement, making promises it to pass it along to the other crew members that she’ll be working with.

Alice hums a quiet thank you, keeping her head down still.

“I think,” Yunho pipes up, smiles present on his face, “that we should at least get to know each other a bit. Not like, deep dark secrets, but little things about each other for Alice, I mean Alex, to learn.”

“We will be sailing for a long time,” Wooyoung agrees, also smiling at Alice.

“Maybe later,” Seonghwa sighs, eyes shifting back to shore, “Mingi and I need to check on the Captain, make sure he’s okay.”

Mingi hums nodding his head, “San, come with us?”

“Sure,” San nods, following the pair as they disembark the ship.

Alice let’s out a long breath, squeezing her knees tightly as she tries to calm down.

Yeosang, Wooyoung, and Yunho all share looks over her head, nodding at each other before Yeosang gently reaches for her arm and Yunho rubs her shoulder.

“Let’s show you around the ship,” Wooyoung smiles, “get you used to the layout and where you can find us,” then he turns to Jongho. “Do you wanna join us or head to the bar with the others?”

Jongho eyes them before nodding, not saying a word but pushing off the rail to follow them as Yeosang guides Alice to the stairs.

The first thing Yeosang does is pint behind them to the far end of the ship where a door sits. “That is going to be my room now, navigation and medical. You can come to find me there any time of the day that you need to talk, got it?”

“Got it,” Alice smiles, nodding in understanding.

They move then up towards the main deck, Yeosang pointing out the door to the Captain’s quarters, the helm, and them guiding her carefully down into the ship and making her take the stairs slowly. Canons lined the inside of this deck and the one below it, Yeosang points out the crew’s quarters on the far end of the ship near the stern with the gallery behind them. Down to the second canon deck is the rest of the guns, storage, and a small room at the very back under the gallery, which is to be her room. The third layer of the ship is mostly storage and treasure hold, as well as a small brig that actually functions as a jail. After giving her a short tour, they move back up to the first deck and back to the gallery, Yunho’s territory.

Yunho cooks up a quick meal for the group and dishes it out, giving Alice an extra slice of bread with a smile.

“Don’t be worried about our Captain,” is the topic Wooyoung ventures, smiling at Alice, “he’s got a temper, and he can be cruel, but he’s really a good guy.”

Alice hums with a forced smile/ “I appreciate that, but I really think he hates me.

“I don’t think he does,” Yeosang offers, biting into his bread. “He’s got this sort of trauma he’s dealing with.”

“Yeah,” Yunho pipes up, sitting down with them with his own plate, “I joined his first crew, with Jongho actually and we heard stories about how he was killed, thrown off a ship in a storm. He was actually dead for a short time, so there’s this rage that comes over him sometimes.”

Jongho makes a noise of agreement before speaking, “we call it his Undead Rage. It’s like, if he doesn’t calm down or if a lot of shit things happen, he gets ridiculously angry.”

“I feel like something came back with him, from Davy Jones’s,” Wooyoung supplies, lifting his fork, “and even though me and Yeosang are the newest of the main crew, we seem to pick up on it faster than he can.”

“I do think it’s getting worse,” Yeosang sighs with a frown.

Tilting her head, Alice quietly asks, “is there any way to reverse it?”

All of them hum and nod.

“At his home, he has a shrine,” Yunho explains, “he has to pray to it and his god to get it under control. Once he prays for a while, he’ll calm down again.”

“But, that idiot didn’t bring it on our last journey,” Jongho groans, shaking his head. “I don’t know how he thinks he’ll survive Ireland and back without it, don’t be surprised if we swing by our home before we odically head out.”

Alice wants to ask where or what home is, but instead, she just smiles and nods along.

“Doesn’t the necklace help, though?” Wooyoung asks with furrowed brows.

Yeosang shakes his head. “Nah, the necklace is just a reminder I think. It keeps him moderately calm, but he needs the shrine. I think the necklace has even lost its touch.”

The conversations then sway into what Alice can do around the ship. They settle on helping Wooyoung keep the underdeck clean and in line, as well as sneaking up to get Yeosang supplies every once and a while. Yunho offers to let her help in the gallery with cleaning and Jongho, while still mostly keeping to himself, offers to show her a few moves and defenses if she ever needs training. In the end, Yeosang escorts her back to her place with a promise of Yunho and Wooyoung collecting her in two days. He only leaves once she promises to stay off her ankle for the entire next day.

As she watches Yeosang leave, peering through her curtains, she feels a little better about the crew she’ll be tagging along with, but there’s still an uncomfortable storm brewing, and she can’t figure out where it’s going to strike next.


	9. Chapter Eight Part One: Promises and Warnings

* * *

 

It's two days later when the sun rises on a new day. The very first thing Alice does when she wakes up is a sigh, staring up at her ceiling and quietly listening to the wind blowing around her house.

 

"Today's the day," she breathes out, pushing herself up onto her elbows. Shoving her hair back, she takes a deep, calming breath and moves her legs out from under the blankets, gently placing them on the floor. Testing the pain in her ankle, she gently applies pressure to it and winces as a dull pain shoots up her leg still. Staring down at her ankle, unwrapped and looking still bruised and discolored. Glaring down at her ankle, she sighs once more and stands up to get ready for the day.

 

Dressing in a loose-fitting button-up, Alice steps in front of her mirror to do a once over. Fluffing her hair around to make it look scragglier and more boyish. Taking a second more, she nods her head and walks out to her living room, pulling on her coat and then carefully sitting down to put on her boots, altogether forgoing new dressings.

 

As expected, Yunho and Wooyoung show up to escort her to the docks. Wooyoung passes a message from Yeosang about "make sure she has her crutches" while Yunho picks up all her boxes and carries them. They walk together, Wooyoung on her right, and Yunho guiding them down to the docks. Once at the ship, buzzing with activity as it's loaded up, Alice spots a familiar head of pink hair that makes her do a double take and stumble.

 

"Um," stopping, she smiles at Wooyoung, "I'm gonna sit here for a bit, I'll board once everything is loaded on. Alright?"

 

Wooyoung hesitates, hand hovering just off Alice's lower back but after glancing at Yunho twice, he nods his head. "Alright, I'll send Yeosang to collect you once it's clear."

 

Flashing him a smile, Alice lets him and Yunho pass before walking over to the pink haired friend.

 

"Kihyun," she sings out happily, a genuine smile on her face as she nudges him, "your hair is pink again! Your captain is going to kill you. Doesn't he always preach the beauty of secrecy, of not standing out and blending in?" chuckling, she reaches up to poke his cheek, "and I believe no bright hair colors was a main rule."

 

With a laugh and a smile, Kihyun gently bats her hand away. "Well, I decided that I needed him to be fully aware of my displeasure with his choices."

 

Alice raises a brow, "so, back to pink?"

 

"Yes!" Kihyun grins wide and bright.

 

They share warm smiles together as Kihyun guides her over to a crate, taking her crutches and letting her sit down. In silence, they watch the crew of ATEEZ load up supplies and double check inventory. Up top, she can see Yeosang and Hongjoong standing going over navigation routes and maps. Alice can't seem to take her eyes off them, watching the pair closely before sighing and looking away.

 

Turning to Kihyun, she quietly asks, "no one else is coming to see me off, right?"                                            

 

"Well," Kihyun takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he crosses his arms over his chest, "Shownu is still furious, and Wonho was calming him down."

 

Alice bites her lip, clasping her hands together as she looks down, "and Changkyun?"

 

"Shownu refused to let any of them come near ATEEZ or" he hesitates, glancing at her before looking away again, "you. But I have a huge lack of disregard for him sometimes."

 

"I've noticed," Alice smiles, looking back up at his bright pink hair and giggling lightly but quickly hiding it behind her hands as Kihyun glares down at her. "If good cooks weren't so hard to come by then I think he'd have gotten rid of you long ago."

 

"That's is true, no one cooks like me. Anyways," Kihyun sways the conversation way with an eye roll, "I wanted to make sure you'd be okay. You'll be okay."

 

"No, I won't be," Alice responds with confidence, dropping her hands with a frown, "I'm not gonna lie this is gonna be tough, but I have to do this. They don't like me," she says quieter, looking back to the captain and navigator for a short second, "at all. I'm the most unwanted guest they've ever had and their main three, their captain, Quarter Master, and First Mate have made it very apparent they hate that I'm on the ship."

 

"But their Captain is a man of his word," Kihyun reminds her, reaching out to rub her shoulder, "he'll take you to Ireland and bring you back."

 

Alice hums in confirmation, slowly nodding her head.

 

A call for raising the anchor is shouted by the master rigger, who is currently up in the sails with the master gunner.

 

"Time to go," Alice retakes the crutches and lets Kihyun help her stand.

 

"Come home safe, I'd hate this to be our last encounter." Kihyun declares, placing a hand on her shoulder again and making her look him in the eyes. "Promise me you'll come back safe. I don't care if you're missing a limb or a little beat up, just come back. Crewmate or not," he squeezes her shoulder to make his point, "you're still important to me."

 

Blinking back tears, Alice nods quickly. With a shaky breath, she gives a sad smile. "I will try my best, pieces missing. I'll come back."

 

Kihyun pulls her into a tight hug then, holding her close for a second more before someone clears their throat lightly. Pulling back, Kihyun looks to Yeosang who stands a few feet away with a soft smile. Patting Alice's back once, Kihyun turns to face him.

 

"I'll make sure she comes back," Yeosang begins, stepping forward, "my captain can be a bit high strung, but I'll keep her safe."

 

Kihyun snorts.

 

"Be nice," Alice mutters under her breath.

 

"I know you don't trust us," Yeosang continues, "but a promise is a promise. We will bring her back."

 

The pair stare each other down for a good minute, making Alice uncomfortable as she stares down at the wood under her feet. It's another minute more before Kihyun finally pulls his hand away, giving him a nod and gently pushing Alice forward.

 

"Take care of her," a warning and a threat, "and check her ankle. If I know my former crew mate as well as I do, I can bet you that her ankle is no longer wrapped and still bruised."

 

"Kihyun!" Alice shrieks quietly, staring at him with surprise.

 

"What?" Kihyun grins, cheekily, "it's only helpful to get you acclimated to a new crew by treating you like normal. Normal me would have already ratted you out to our doctor and deposited you into his quarters to get it looked at."

 

"I hate you," Alice grumbles as he gently pushes her to Yeosang.

 

Yeosang gives words of promise again and promise of looking at her ankle, and then steps around to stand next to her, guiding her up to the boarding plank. Stealing one last glance at Kihyun, Alice then boards The Desire.

 

"First things first," Yeosang declares, steering Alice towards the ship bow of the ship instead of the stair down, "I need to check your wound and see how it's healed. I bet you haven't changed the dressings, so I'll also need to switch those out."

 

As Yeosang begins to mutter about the balm he'll need to make they walk past their captain, heading past them to the helm. He spares Yeosang a nod and then Alice one small glare before brushing past her. Holding back a heavy sigh, Alice shakes her head and looks down, missing the glare Yeosang sends at his back.

 

"Alex," Yeosang calls, bring her to look up, "he'll come around. I'm sure of it."

 

"As much as I appreciate that, Yeosang," she sighs, shaking her head and beginning forward to his quarter's, "I know when I'm not welcome and your Captain has made that abundantly clear."

 

Withholding comments, Yeosang simply turns and walks her to his quarters in silence.

 

Up on the helm of the ship, where Mingi stands at the wheel, Wooyoung comes down from the mizzen mast. His boots land quietly on the floor, and Mingi actually jumps a little when he walks past to catch Hongjoong on the stairs.

 

"You could just give her a chance you know," Wooyoung declares, quietly but with intent.

 

"Have you seen that kind of bad luck around her?" Hongjoong raises a brow and tilting his head to the side. "She shouldn't even be on this ship, people like her should be nowhere near this ship. If I was not obligated to hold up my word, then I'd drop her off at first sight of land."

 

Huffing, Wooyoung glares at his captain. "Then why didn't you declare the ship compensation for her original damage?"

 

Hongjoong sighs, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I did, Wooyoung. I just already promised I'd take her to Ireland and I don't go back on my word," he growls out the last statement with a glare of his own.

 

"Yes, but that was in return or the ship, which they should pay us back for anyways because it was her fault. If they knew of the bad luck, they'd understand, and we could've washed our hands of her then and there," Wooyoung clarifies his point, knowing it's something they have down before and something Hongjoong isn't opposed to doing. "So, I don't understand why we couldn't do it again this time."

 

Hongjoong is silent.

 

Wooyoung shakes his head. "Instead you offered a trade as compensation. Why did you do that if you thought she was horrific bad luck? I'm asking cause I'm genuinely curious, captain. So, why did you still agree?"

 

Hongjoong stares at Wooyoung for only a second before looking past him and continues up the stairs, ignoring him completely.

 

"Real mature, Hongjoong," Wooyoung mutters, glaring behind him as he finishes his descent to the main deck. Striding over to Yeosang's quarters he opens the door and pokes his head in. "Yeosang?"

 

The room is a reasonable size, enough for two cots to hang on one side alongside a small medical station. On the opposite side sits a bed with a chest at the end and a bookshelf with a small desk. Yeosang is seated on a stool by the bed which Alice is sat on, her ankle is resting on Yeosang's knee as he rubs a balm over it. Alice is holding a roll of bandages, fidgeting with them as she looks to Wooyoung from the corner of her eye.

 

"Yes?" Yeosang answers Wooyoung's first call, eyes focused entirely on his task.

 

"All the medical supplies are account for and stored where you asked," Wooyoung states. "is there anything else that needs to be done or stored or are you good for the voyage?"

 

"I'll be good," Yeosang hums, looking up long enough to take the bandages from Alice, "but Alex here will need someone to take him down the ship, and you'll need to figure out his tasks as you are in charge of him."

 

Wooyoung nods, eyes moving to Alice. "It's still weird though," he comments, "knowing you're a she but referring to you as he."

 

Alice frowns, squeezing her hands together in a nervous habit, while Yeosang begins to wrap her ankle.

 

"It's not an issue," Wooyoung clarifies, "it's just going to take my brain a bit to get used to. As soon as he's bandaged up I'll take him," he gives one more nod before ducking out of the room and closing the door.

 

Yeosang smiles, carefully spinning the bandage around her ankle. "Some crew members are already coming around. That's a good sign."

 

Sighing, Alice nods her head slowly. "I hope so."

 

Once Yeosang puts her foot down and stands, Alice reaches for her boot and carefully slides it back on. While Yeosang places his supplies on the desk, Alice stands and tests the pressure on her ankle, still feeling a dull pain but much more manageable.

 

"Can I leave the crutches?" She asks, glaring at where they sit against the wall.

 

Looking over, Yeosang gives her a blank look before walking over. "You'll be under the main deck so I guess you can. I'll instruct Yunho to watch you closely, or Jongho, he's strong. Now go see Wooyoung and head down with him."

 

With that said, Alice walks to the door. The first few steps are hesitant with a slight limp, but by the time she opens the door and steps on deck, she's sure she can put full pressure on her ankle. Wooyoung is waiting just outside the door for her, giving her a polite smile before waving a hand in motion for her to follow as he walks across the deck and down into the first gun deck.

 

Together they walk past the cannon and crew quarters to the galley where a decent amount of the crew is situated.

 

"Listen up everyone," Wooyoung calls out, walking to the center of the room while Alice situates herself off to the side, "as per usual one voyages there isn't too much to do in the first few days. Most of you will be working above deck, I don't expect us to run into any fights for at least a couple weeks at sea. We'll go through our usual first night festivities, Jongho has already planned the music."

 

The man mentioned stands up with a shout of joy, rousing the crew into cheers as well.

 

"I don't expect many of us to be sober tonight," Wooyoung laughs with a bright smile, "but until then let's just make sure we're all packed, organized, and clean," he stresses this last word, looking around pointedly. "We all know our quartermaster, love him as we do, is a bit of a neat freak so let's keep it as neat as we can. I don't want to get scolded for 'not knowing how to handle a crew' again."

 

The crew all gives murmurs and grunts of agreements, and Alice takes the information about the quartermaster, knowing he's one she won't get close to easily, and stores it away for later use.

 

After Wooyoung's message and a few quick orders, the crew disperses into the ship, and Wooyoung turns back to Alice.

 

"For you, today I want you to rest. I think Yunho," he motions over the cook, "will be the one you help most. How well do you cook?"

 

"I don't," Alice blurts out, eyes wide, "I eat fruit and bread for a living."

 

Yunho makes a hissing noise as he walks up. "No wonder you're so small Alex, you need to eat more food. I'll teach you to cook in no time."

 

Alice squints her eyes, looking to Wooyoung, "are you sure?" She asks, "I can help elsewhere under deck with things."

 

"You will," Wooyoung nods his head, crossing his arms, "when we need supplies I can make you run down to get them, I'll show you how we organize and where everything is in the hull over the next few days. Aside from that, you'll be helping Yunho here in the kitchen with cooking and cleaning. Yeosang may need help in his office if injuries occur. And, of course, if a fight breaks out, you'll be manning the cannons. All in due time."

 

"Wow," Alice breaths out, eyes wide, "okay, yeah, we'll start with cooking."

 

"Good, Yunho," Wooyoung reaches up and pats his shoulder, "he's yours, I'm going to go finish organizing our cargo."

 

Turning on heel, Wooyoung walks out the galley door. Yunho smiles at his retreating figure as he walks back over to his cooking station.

 

"So," Alice draws the word out slowly, placing her hands behind her back as she slowly follows him, "what shall you have me do to start?"

 

"I'm making a feast for tonight," Yunho declares, "you're gonna help me."

 

Yunho takes Alice's arm, pulling her with him to gather the ingredients needed and begin the process of making a large first day voyage feast. When Alice asks him, timidly, about this tradition, Yunho explains that Hongjoong always wants the crew to start off a voyage on the right foot. For smaller or more basic trips it's not as festive and big, but this is a long journey they're embarking on so he feels that the bigger the festivities, the better the voyage will be. Alice comments on how superstitions that is, but Yunho simply brushes it off, not reprimanding her, merely ignoring her which makes her relax a little.

 

By the time the sun goes down, and the moon has begun its ascent Yunho and Alice have finished the cooking, with only a couple of small mishaps on Alice's part that Yunho was quickly able to fix. A couple of other crew members collect the food and bring it up to the main deck as the lanterns and torches are all lit. Music begins to seep in from the floorboards, a guitar, and small drum as shanties are sung out by the crew. There's one voice, beautiful and strong, that seems to be leading the crew in the songs.

 

"Let's head up," Yunho declares once he cleans the last bit of mess, tossing a towel off his shoulder onto the counter.

 

Looking up from her spot at one of the tables in the galley, Alice hesitates. "I don't think I should."

 

Yunho pauses, then quietly walks over to her, with a little worry etched on his face. "Why not?"

 

"It's just," Alice sighs, resting her elbow on the table with her chin on her palm, "it's a crew celebration. I'm not a part of the crew. Plus, your captain," she grumbles out, "has made it clear he wants me to stay here and not be on deck."

 

It's silent then, minus the music still seeping into the room, and Yunho opens and closes his mouth a few times, ending with just biting his lip as he looks to the door.

 

"It's alright," Alice reassure, smiling, "I'll head down to my quarters, no hard feelings."

 

Yunho sighs this time, shaking his head. "Are you sure?"

 

"I'm sure," Alice motions for him to head up, "go, it's fine."

 

He hesitates only a moment more before nodding, patting her shoulder, and walking away.

 

Once alone, Alice lets her shoulder drop and her head slip to rest on the table with a heavy sigh. The music and cheers grow in volume as Yunho appears, the sounds of him being roped into the festivities.

 

"If only I wasn't an outcast," she breathes out, feeling her warm breath on her face as she sits there.

 

It takes her a minute more before she stands, pushing the chair into the table. Taking her time, she wanders over to the skylight hatch at the other end of the ship where the music comes in full blast, the sound of chatter and drinking and joy pouring into the ship. She basks in the sound and feelings for a minute, soaking up the laughter and happy atmosphere just for a moment. Moving onward, she takes the stairs the second gun deck and walks to her quarters.

 

Gently opening the door, she finds a simple small room. A bed sits in the corner, a desk on the opposite wall with her boxes stacked next to it and a chest at the foot of the bed. Small, quaint, and just enough space. She closes the door behind her and walks right to the bed, pulling her coat off and tossing it the desk and dropping slowly on the bed and pulling the blankets around her.

 

"I wish I could just sleep and wake up in Ireland," she groans.

 

Laying in the bed, with the gentle sounds of the water outside and the softer sound of the music seeping in, Alice finds herself quickly lulled into sleep.

 

The ocean has always been her safe haven and her own personal hell. It calms her down and helps her relax, but it haunts her subconscious and drowns her in her regrets.

 

As the world slips away and the dream world pulls her in, the sound of the waves outside seem to grow louder, and louder, and louder, and then suddenly all at once, it's quiet. Still. Silent. Floating in the silence is peaceful, it lets her focus on her breathing and trying to release the pent-up tension in her muscles and force herself into a sense of relaxation. It only lasts for a short while. Slowly, the waves return, pulling and pushing her around.

 

Not again.

 

The water seeps into her bones, and she feels the weight of the ocean on her again. Cries and screams, muffled by the sea, begin to rise. Cannons. Ships. The fiery battle over and over again. The panic increases swiftly, a second choking feeling as no air enters her lungs. Trying to breath proves difficult, and the pain that comes with lack of air hits her like a punch. The screaming gets louder, less muffled and piercing and sharp.

 

"Alex!"

 

Jolting up in a cold sweat, Alice flinches away from a warm touch on her arm and hits the wall, hissing in pain.

 

"It's okay, it's just me. Breath, take a deep breath and breath."

 

Slowly, the visions of ships and water fade into the room on The Desire. There's a lantern lighting the room, placed carefully on the desk, and provide light enough for the room to come easily into focus. Alice breaths, quickly at first and then deeply and slowly as her eyes zero in on the soft voice that spoke: Wooyoung.

 

"Take a couple of deep breaths," Wooyoung says quietly, sitting pensively on the edge of the bed with a hand raised in the air next to her arm. "It's just a nightmare."

 

Alice laughs, a strangled pained laugh as she closes her eyes and shakes her head. Visions still dance behind her eyelids, so she blinks them open again. "Memories and nightmares, they seem to blend together," she coughs, rubbing her throat as she leans forward.

 

Wooyoung hums, finally placing his hand slowly on her arm. "One and the same I've found."

 

It's quiet for a while as Alice takes in a few deep breaths and Wooyoung gently rubs her arm. The tension slowly leaves her body, letting her relax her posture enough to sink down on the bed and rest her head back on the pillow. Wooyoung still sits on the edge of the bed, watching her closely.

 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

 

Alice blinks. "What?"

 

"The nightmare," he clarifies, "talking about it usually helps. I've had nightmares like that, and talking about it always made it easier to deal with."

 

"Why," Alice licks her lips and sighs, realizing just how dry her throat is, "why are you even down here, Wooyoung?"

 

Humming, he tilts his head back, looking at the ceiling. "Yunho said you refused to join us as not to ager our captain, which was understandable. So, I wanted to make sure you were resting well and thought I'd come to check as I did my nightly rounds. Now, since you seem hesitant to tell me your story, would hearing mine help at all."

 

Alice chuckles, shaking her head. "You don't have to tell me your story Wooyoung. I feel that's a privilege only for crew members, and I'm not, remember."

 

Wooyoung looks at her, staring intently at her in the dim light of the room. Then, he stands up, motioning her to move closer to the wall, giving him a place to sit next to her on the bed.

 

"I was raised in an orphanage," Wooyoung stares, stretching his arms out and sighing before letting his head drop back against the ship wall. "Treated poorly, beaten, but I had a brother that watched over me. The nightmares didn't start until I ran away for the orphanage, that was after my brother joined the military and left me. Of course," he laughs, "it was with a promise of returning and words of advice to join the military too, but he still left. In the end, the law caught up with my thieving, and I was given an ultimatum: join the navy or go to jail."

 

"That's," Alice is shocked, she knows with the Royal Navy she shouldn't be, but she is, "just cruel."

 

Wooyoung hums, nodding his head. "That's when the real nightmares came in. Being a powder monkey on a Royal Navy ships is – as I now know – worse than jail. At least in jail, beating prisoners isn't totally common, I mean, it happens sure but not as often as officers on ships beating or tormenting the lower scum of the ship."

 

Alice watches him with pain on her face, feeling sorry for the master gunner.

 

"In the end, ATEEZ saved me. When I first joined, the nightmares were so bad I didn't sleep, and I was fully prepared to defend myself against the main crew of ATEEZ, but" a dreamy smile grows on his face as his whole aura softens, "San was really kind to me and helped me. He was like, aloof and standoff, but he cared and showed it in different ways. Mostly," he laughs, looking to Alice before glancing to the door, "in making Yunho look after me, but Yunho told me it was him. Oh, and Yunho has this magical drink for nightmares, I'll make it for you."

 

"Thank you," Alice whispers, looking down at her hands, which are clasped in her lap, "for sharing. You're surprisingly nice."

 

"The crew is hesitant to trust, but they mean well," Wooyoung pats her thigh before smiling. "Now, are up to sharing your story?"

 

Taking a long, deep breath, Alice thinks of where to start. "I guess, the nightmares always start with my parents. My dad was – is an abusive mad man. Mom took the brunt of it for me so I wouldn't be completely subjected to it, and eventually, we were gonna run away, to Ireland. Dad, of course, found out, and I had to . . ." she pauses, steading her heart rate as the images flash again in front of her. "I watched my mom die."

 

"Oh Alice," he breathes out, quickly wrapping an arm around her shoulder in a show of comfort.

 

"Yep, watched my mom die and then ran away," she nods her head.

 

"Didn't you," Wooyoung's eyes squint as he tries to recall Alice's reason for being on the ship they found her, "didn't say your dad had a bounty on you?"

 

Alice makes a noise of confirmation, laughing a little. "Yep, found that out from those Royal Navy pricks. He is declaring I killed my mother and tried to kill him when all I did after my mom was shot was run out to the docks where my aunt picked me up and took me to Ireland."

 

Wooyoung, still very curious, poses a new question, "if you went to Ireland after that, how did you end up here?"

 

"That's nightmare part two," Alice holds up two fingers, "we sailed from Ireland to here to get away from my father and be safe. I sailed with my aunt and uncle until my first and worst voyage. I was in charge of the route, the navigation, the ship, the crew, it was all a test of my learning and school, and well, it went wrong. Horrifically wrong and we lost a lot of crew, and the Royal Navy completely destroyed us. I faked dead. Everyone else was killed, but I faked dead and stayed on the wreckage until another pirate crew found me. That was the second most horrific day of my life," Alice mutters, squeezing her hands together tightly, and those two events and days always blend together into one horrific nightmare mess."

 

"They can't happen though," are Wooyoung's words of comfort, rubbing her shoulder. "They've already happened, they can't happen again. It's not a great comfort, and it takes time to really believe, but it might help. Did talking at least help?"

 

Looking up at him, Alice gives a strained smile. "A little?" She whispers, unsure as she looks past him at the lantern. "I haven't told anyone other than a few of my old crew members about it, I keep it close to me."

 

"That's bad," Wooyoung then lifts his hand to flick her ear before setting it back on her shoulder, "holding bad memories in is like letting a wound fester. It's just going to get infected and cause a bigger issue. I can't speak for,"' he gestures his hand around to motion to the rest of the ship, "the rest of my crew, but I can speak for myself in that if you need to talk you can come to me. I know how scary it is to feel alone."

 

"Thank you, again," Alice smiles, still tired and worn out, but a sincere smile.

 

Wooyoung squeezes her shoulder again before swinging his feet off the bed and pushing himself up. "Good, now if you'll follow me to the galley, I will make you the magical tea that Yunho introduced me to. You'll sleep amazingly, and then tomorrow we'll go over everything you need to know for helping me run this ship, deal?" He holds out his hand for her to grab, an invitation of many things to come.

 

She hesitates, but in the end, she takes his hand and lets him pull her up. "It's a deal."


	10. Chapter Eight Part Two: Promises and Warnings

* * *

 

The tea that she ends up drinking was extremely relaxing and just as promises, she finds her first peaceful sleep due to actual relaxation. Waking up even proves to be better as she feels refreshed, energized, and altogether, ready for what even the crew throws at her. True to his word, Wooyoung is prepared for her after she’s had a small meal and they begin their inventory run.

Most of her first official day on the ship is spent down in the hull, taking notes in a small blank book from her collection. With Wooyoung’s helpful guidance and Seonghwa’s begrudging guidance, she can quickly wrap her head around how everything is organized and designed on the ship. Still, she isn’t allowed to breach the surface; Seonghwa gives her pointed looks anytime he’s underdeck while she’s on the first canon deck, making sure she knows that she isn’t trusted. Mingi, as well, keeps her in his sight and keep his ledger and treasure record out of her sight.

On the second day, Yunho makes a point of including her in all his cooking and cleaning duties. He keeps her busy, cleaning, cooking, running supplies form the hull to the galley or to other crew members to take upstairs. Wooyoung visits her at night too with tea, a precaution he declares.

The third day is spent mostly in the kitchen with Yunho, learning about cooking and spices. Jongho joins for a while if only to steal apples as Alice is informed by Yunho that it’s his favorite pass time and why they have a surplus of copper lined barrels full of apples in water. At night, after dinner, most of the crew is up above on deck singing shanties while Alice sits with Wooyoung in the kitchen as he shares the secrets of the tea he gave her. He teaches her how to make it and has her try it out herself. When she asks how long he’s going to be giving her the tea, he simply says, “until I know for sure that your nightmares won’t come back.”

The fourth-day Yeosang comes down to inspect her ankle and give her some more ointment before Wooyoung is pulling her around for more duties and cleaning of the underdeck. Yunho talks her up to some of the lower crew members, who seem eager to speak to another new face around. When Seonghwa comes down to see her conversing so calmly with the crew, he frowns and comes up some tasks for her to complete away from the crew. By nightfall she’s tired and quietly slips into her room, opting for skipping eating. The one that comes to her with food and the ever-special tea is actually Jongho, declaring Wooyoung was busy above deck but wanted to make sure she ate.

By the fifth day, Alice feels like she’s gained a stable footing with the lower crew members. Yunho, Wooyoung, and Yeosang seem very accepting and caring of her, with Jongho still teetering between being cautious and just accepting her. She’s calmer by the fifth day, feeling like she isn’t totally hated. The fifth day starts with Yeosang sneaking her up above deck, the first clear view of the world and lung full of fresh air she’s gotten in days, it immediately makes her body lose with relaxation.

The sea stretches out far as the eye can see, islands dot the horizon line occasionally here and there, but for the most part, it’s open ocean. Alice grins, full and bright as she takes the short walk from the stairs to Yeosang’s quarters in, implanting it in her memory and taking deep breaths of the sea salt air. She knows very well, as soon as Hongjoong finds out she’s above deck, she’ll be escorted back down by Mingi, Seonghwa, or San.

When she asks him what she’s there for, he smiles and guides her over to his work station.

“I am the only medical person on this ship, and I have done my best to train most of the crew in some basic first aid things. Things like put pressure on the wound to stem bleeding and the simple things like that, but you,” he grins and pulls up a stool for her to sit on, “I want to teach more to. I feel like you’d be interested. Little birds on the ship tell me you’re very adaptable.”

“Well,” Alice draws the word out with a smile, “I always try to be the most vital part of the ship. The more things I know and can help with, then the more likely I am to be kept on board.”

“You are one very clever girl,” Yeosang smiles, patting her shoulder before walking over to grab his chair.

For most of the day, they sit in front of the work table and his own personal medical notes as he teaches her essential medication and ointment recipes. The hardest part is all the ingredients, thankfully he has a book full of them and even gives it to her to keep. Wooyoung slips in at some point to check on her and inform them that Seonghwa was beginning to get suspicious of her, but he stays oblivious.

They’re disturbed from their learning session by the shout from Wooyoung, up in the crow’s nest, for the anchor to be lowered.

“Five days?” Yeosang murmurs, looking to the door. “Shorter than usual, we must’ve caught a good wind.”

Leaning forward, Alice places her hands on the desk and quietly asks, “where are we now, if I may ask?”

“Some island in the Bahamas off the coast of the colonies,” Yeosang offers, waving a hand, “our Captain has someone he trades coin and goods for information. They’ve been meaning to meet for a little while now. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“It’s not a concern,” Alice reassures, leaning back, “it’s just I have no idea what the course to Ireland is.”

“Oh!” Yeosang’s eyes widen a fraction as he whips around to look at her. “Right, Hongjoong wouldn’t let you be privy to our route,” then he grows this dark, mischievous grin, “but I can. So, we’re here to trade for info, simple action. After this, we’re sailing up to North Carolina, one of the colonies. There’s a small pirate port there where we always stock up on supplies before the journey to sea. From there we’ll follow the coat up and curve around the top near the Arctic,” he draws a curve with his finger as he looks up, thinking about the course and seeing the map in his head, “hence the need for supplies, cold waters always make it harder. From there we come down to Ireland, an easy way to avoid most ships and hopefully have no run-ins with the Royal Navy.”

Alice nods her head along with him, also seeing the map in her head as she charts the course to the best of her knowledge. “Alright, that sounds fair. It makes the trip longer, correct?”

“Only a little, maybe an extra couple of days,” Yeosang shrugs. “More importantly, do you know what is stopping her for information means?”

Squinting at him, she leans back and tilts her head.

There’s a call for the anchor to be lowered outside the door as Alice shakes her head.

“It means,” Yeosang’s smile turns soft, “that I can bring you out on the deck and let you enjoy the fresh air.”

That makes Alice sit up straight, eyes wide. “What? How?”

“The main three all go for these things,” Yeosang sighs, “leaves the ship a bit vulnerable in my opinion, but San is great in control while they’re on the island.”

“The main three,” Alice counts on her fingers, trying to figure out what ones would be the main three of the crew. “That would be … the Captain and the quartermaster of course, and the third is the first mate?”

“Correct. Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and Mingi,” Yeosang then reaches over to ruffle her hair, “you’re learning so well, Alex.”

Then she laughs, actually laughs. It’s light, breezy kind of laugh, similar to spring and it makes Yeosang grin.

“I’ll go watch them off and collect when it’s clear,” standing up he moves to the door and slips out, leaving Alice alone with a smile on her face.

It isn’t long before the plank is placed down, running from the ship to the rocky cliff edge they’ve anchored next to, only a small drop down. The main three disembark the ship, fully armed and prepared in case anything goes terrible – a routine precaution. Yeosang watches the tree as they disappear into the thick tropical forest brush and gives it a couple minutes more before bounding back to his quarters and pulling Alice out.

San is quick to pick up on the move Yeosang makes, striding down from the helm and right up to him and Alice. “What is he doing up here?”

“Sannie,” Yeosang bats his eyes, smiles, and steps forward, “just this once, don’t tell Hongjoong? I mean, what harm can she possibly do?”

San raises a brow at him and crosses his arms. “He deemed himself bad luck, so I think that’s sufficient answer enough to keep him out of the way.”

“But we aren’t doing anything,” he makes a sweeping motion with his arms to show that the crew are all sitting, relaxing and waiting. “Nothing is going on, I just think he needs fresh air and to move around with his still-healing ankle, so it doesn’t get too stiff. Plus, he’s been under the boards since we left, won’t some sunlight be good?”

He’s persuasive, deadly so, and San knows this as he sighs and looks to Alice. They share a split second of eye contact before Alice looks away, feigning interest in the rest of the crew milling around.

“Fine,” is San’s curt answer, “but as soon as they are in sight, he goes back under faster than lightning, and if he sees him? I’m selling you short without hesitation.”

“I expect nothing else form our fiercest member,” Yeosang gives a mock salute with a grin. As San walks away, side-eyeing them still, Yeosang just grins and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “I guess that’s an all clear.”

“He’s still mad though,” Alice scolds, glaring lightly at him.

“So, he’ll be mad, but you get to walk around and stretch and enjoy the sun,” Yeosang continues to smile as he begins to walk her around the ship.

Soaking in the sun, only blocked occasionally by stray clouds, Alice thoroughly enjoys her time above deck. They walk to the stern, not up the stairs to the helm, but instead back around towards the bow, giving Alice a beautiful view of the ocean, a distant island can be seen just on the horizon but other than that the sea stretches on out of sight. Yeosang loops her back around and walks her up to the helm where San stands at the wheel, arms crossed and surveying the crew. Above them in the netting attached to the mizzenmast sits Wooyoung, crossbow in hand just in case as his eyes watch the forest the main crew vanished into. He steals a glance at them, smiling before looking back to the forest.

With a light, content sigh, Alice walks over to the railing and leans her elbows, staring out at the ocean.

Yeosang leaves her side to stand with San, knowing she won’t be going anywhere.

As she looks out at the sea, she feels calm and at peace. Her eyes skim over each of the islands dotting the horizon and the clouds that disappear at the blue line of the sea. It’s as her eyes sweep over to the island they’re on, just behind the stern of the ship where she stands that she sees the glimpse of white sails. Squinting to see better, she leans forward off the ship to see if she’s right. It takes her a second to focus on the ship, which moves steadily closer, but as she does, she can clearly see Royal Navy men aboard.

“Um,” her throat goes dry, so she clears it before standing up and walking over to Yeosang and San, speaking in a hushed town, so the rest of the crew doesn’t hear. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I just spotted a Royal Navy ship that seems to be coming towards us but hiding along the shore.”

That makes both of them whip around, San glaring at her as he pulls out his scope to check. Yeosang moves over to where she was and leans over to catch a look himself, nodding his head when he sees it.

“We already weighed anchor,” San growls, “we wouldn’t get it up in time to run away, and I wouldn’t want to leave them here.”

“Well, we could try –”

“Enemy soldiers!” Wooyoung shouts out from above. “Royal Navy incoming from land!”

“What?!” San whips back around, along with the others as everyone on the ship draws guns and cutlasses.

There on land, emerging from the tree line on the left and right are large groups of Navy officers with swords already drawn. The sound of gunfire fills the air immediately, most of the crew firing off shots from the deck to try and stall them, but they keep coming. The rest of the crew emerges from below deck just as the Navy officers begin to board, and then the fight starts.

While clearly outnumbered ATEEZ fights valiantly and fiercely. San quickly stashes his scope and draws his rapier, descending onto the main deck and swinging at the first officer he sees. Wooyoung stays above, climbing up to the main crow’s nest and taking shots from above with his crossbow. Yeosang draws his own cutlass and goes down the opposite stairs from San, cutting down two officers on the way. Alice, without hesitation, takes out her short sword and moves to the helm, grabbing the railing and looking over to survey the area, find where she’s needed. The other ship is still encroaching on them, she knows they’ll board form the opposite side as the island, and with most of the fight on the main deck they’ll overpower them quickly, so following Yeosang she takes the stairs by the ocean down and starts fighting.

Gun powder masks the scent of the ocean, with a tinge of copper mixing as blood is sprayed across the wooden deck with each shot and slash.

Alice moves swiftly, slashing at the stomachs of the officers she passes, ducking under swords and sidestepping any crew members. She thinks – for a brief second – that she’s glad the ATEEZ crew is always in black, while she stands out it does make easy to tell friend from foe. Slowly she works her way to clear the deck where the other ship will most likely board, giving them a clear view of the ship as it moves closer. When she turns back to the ship, she scans over the crew once more to see if anyone is in trouble. Her eyes sweep quickly, flicking from person to person and taking in many details in seconds worth of time. AS her eyes find San, back up at the helm, struggling to fight off three soldiers. A quick glance up and she finds Wooyoung with his back to him, so she turns without hesitation and rushes up to the helm.

San is pushed roughly from behind, sending him crashing into the wheel. He takes a second to catch his breath, but only a second before he drops, narrowly missing a stab from one officer. Their sword is jammed in the wheel, giving him a chance to spin around, kick his shin, and shove his word through his stomach. He rips his sword free but is roughly grabbed by the collar, being yanked back. The officer holding him wraps an arm around his neck, San reaches up to grab it with his free hand, and keep him open to the other officer, who’s grinning from ear to ear with blood at the corner of his mouth where San had punched him earlier. He raises his sword, San struggles hard, thrusting his elbow backward to try and dislodge the man but he pulls tighter, making him choke. Gritting his teeth, San yanks harder on the arm holding him and closes his eyes as the other officer brings his sword down.

The sound of metal on metal, followed by a shouted curse makes San’s eyes fly open. Alice stands before him, slicing down the officers with a quick flick of her wrist. San takes advantage of the surprise and grips the officer holding him before flipping him over onto his back. He rolls away just in time as Alice spins around and stabs him dead in the chest. She turns her wide eyes to San, and he notes for a second how much like the ocean they look when they’re that big.

“Are you okay?” Is what she asks, breathing heavily and eyes flicking around to the rest of the crew.

“I’m alive,” San admits, breathing in deeply before quietly saying, “thank you.”

Alice gives a wry smile, unsure if this is a good sign or not, and quickly turns as the sound of the new ship’s plank landing rings out. “They’re boarding us, let’s go!”

With the influx of new officers, they are sadly outnumbered. Many officers had been cut down and lie dying or dead, but the new ones more than make up for it. Surprisingly, they don’t kill any crew members, knockout sure, but not murder. All too soon, the entire crew is outnumbered, tied up, and kneeling on the ship.

“We don’t want to kill you,” someone calls from the other ship, “we just want your Captain to get a message. Ah! Here he comes now.”

Quickly trying to look over the heads of the crew, Alice sees the forest brush rustle for a second before Hongjoong bursts through, eyes wide with rage as he runs across the open stretch of ground to the ship.

“Captain Kim!” The other man calls, striding up to the plank of his ship.

Seonghwa and Mingi emerge next, rushing to try and catch Hongjoong as he quickly draws a pistol and climbs up onto their plank.

“Ah!” The other shouts, holding up a hand as several officers turn their swords to greet Hongjoong as he drops onto this ship. “No guns, no fighting. You shoot me or any of my officers, I slice one of your crews’ throats, or two to be safe.”

That makes Hongjoong more furious, but he closes his eyes, holds his pistol up to the sky, and takes a long, deep breath.

“Take his weapons and tie up those two,” he orders, waving his hands.

Reluctantly, Hongjoong waves his hand to motion Seonghwa and Mingi to do as told, letting them step around him to join the crew. Seonghwa gives Alice a very pointed look as Mingi simply glares down the officer tying his hands up. The pair and shoved down across from Alice next to Jongho and Yunho. Once Hongjoong’s weapons are taken, tossed across the deck on the floor far out of reach, the other man steps down onto the ship.

“It’s nice to finally meet the man who keeps stealing my things, Captain Kim, you are a hard man to find,” he praises, grinning and placing his hands behind his back. “Now, not that long ago you stole some maps form me and a few coins, but it’s mostly my trade maps I want.”

Hongjoong laughs, shaking his head harshly making the long earing he now wears shake and hit himself. “No, I sold those already at the market,” he sighs, sarcastically, “you bet those went for a pretty price.”

The other man scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Those are precious trade maps that even you need. You would never sell those off, I’m sure of it.”

Behind them al on the cliff, a rough voice calls out, “he has a stash of good here. It’s in this little cabin like hold in the forest here. He has them stashed there.”

Spinning around, Hongjoong points a finger at the scraggly man behind him. “I will hunt you down to the ends of the ocean once this is over,” he spits out, pure venom dripping from his mouth.

The informant just smiles. “The Royal Navy paid me enough that I’ll disappear before you get away.”

“Well,” the other man smirks, “I think it’s best that you lead me to this storage hold of yours so I can get my maps back.”

“Like hell, I will!”

The man laughs, darkly. “Do it, I gut your whole crew.”

There’s a tense silence that follows. Hongjoong is seething again, looking wildly for a second round at his crew before focusing his eyes on the other man. “As long as you don’t kill my crew, then I’ll gladly guide you to the amps.”

“Good, I’d hate to have to kill so many good prisoners,” that makes Hongjoong growl, “but I’ll need collateral just in case. Not you quartermaster or first mate, but someone a little more important. Grab the rigger.”

Alice stares wide-eyed at San as he’s roughly pulled to his feet, hands still bound, and pushed by one officer over to Hongjoong who quietly rests a hand on his arm – a sign of reassurance.

“And maybe just one more,” he hums, walking through the crew and looking at each member in turn. He gets a few sneers and growls from the feistier crew but stops short when he gets to Alice, eyeing her up. “Him,” he points to her, making her eyes widen.

Just her luck.

Yeosang makes a noise of protest, while Wooyoung growls and Yunho visibly stiffens.

The man laughs, gleefully. “Seem your crew like him? Good choice on my part, grab him, and let’s go.”

Once Alice is picked up, even rougher than San an almost dragged until she gets her footing, they descend onto the island. Hongjoong with the informant leads, with the other man behind him and behind him follow Alice and San with three guards behind them, pushing them forward. Even as Alice struggles to get through certain parts of the brush without her hands, the officer behind her will push the hilt of his sword into her back. Up front, Hongjoong is drilling the informant with questions on how he got into the Navy or how they caught up to him, trying desperately to figure out just how this happened. The informant does simply explain that he was found, in a place the Royal Navy is also never in and offered more money than Hongjoong or any other pirate has, so he took it. Hongjoong grumbles about sellouts and unfaithful people as they break into a small circular clearing with a small cabin embedded in the ground.

“Here she is,” Hongjoong sighs, deflating as he turns to face the man.

“Good, that means one person here isn’t needed,” with a wave of his hand, one of the guard’s steps forward and slices open the informants’ guts.

Alice actually screams, a short, loud sound, silenced by the hilt of a sword hitting her back again, making her double over before being roughly pulled back to standing. She stares, wide-eyed in shock as the informant drops heavily to his knees, trying to cover up the slice across his stomach as blood pool below him. The guard swings his swords again, she’s’ quick enough to bring her hands up to muffle her shout, and slices clean through his throat, spilling more dark red blood into the dirt. The man then falls over on his side as the blood slowly runs downhill towards Alice’s boots.

Tsking, Hongjoong pulls a key from his inner coat pocket, shaking his head. “You Royal scum look down on us so much, but you do this,” he gestures vaguely to the now dead informant before turning to unlock the cabin.

San hums in agreement, “sometimes I honestly think you guys are worse than use pirates.”

The man shrugs, seeming unbothered. “If anyone were to found out I caught a pirate by working with a pirate, I’d be dead for sure. Best to cut out all loose ends.”

Standing up after relocking the cabin, Hongjoong holds out a small money pouch and a pile of maps. “Here you go, scum.”

The man takes them, glaring at Hongjoong. “Well, you still lied, and you’ve been a rather ungrateful host. I think you need collateral.”

The guard who killed the informant steps behind Hongjoong and skillfully grabs his arms, holding him still. The shouts of their crew members calling for them reach their ears, far off be incoming.

“Damn, I guess my crew pulled out already, we’ll have to make this quick,” he waves a hand and the guard behind Alice raises his sword and slices down her back, making her scream and drop to her knees.

When neither San or Hongjoong make a reaction, the man raises a brow.

“He is a” Hongjoong eyes Alice, who’s scared eyes find him, “a reluctant member of the ship. If I didn’t owe someone a favor for a favor, then he would still be back home and not causing a mess of my crew.”

Humming, the man nods his head.

The calls from the crew seem to get louder, but it’s muffled through the ringing in her ears.

“Very well, just one more cut should do,” he fake whispers to the guard who slices once more in an ‘x’ shape across her back.

Her hands grip the grass tightly as she shakes from the pain.

“Now for the other one,” he waves his hand once more, and Alice looks up in time to see the last guard spin San around and shove a long dagger straight into his gut.

“No!” They both scream in unison; Hongjoong fighting against the one holding him and Alice pushing herself up to her knees so she can reach for him as the dagger is ripped out and he is shoved to the ground.

As Hongjoong spits out cruses, promises of death, and warnings that this is going to be the reason he dies, Alice crawls to San and rips her coat off. Groaning from the pain of her wounds she pushes on and quickly covers the injury with her coat, the blood soaking through the white instantly as she presses down into the wound, making San cry out in pain. The blood from the informant soaks into her pants, still slowly moving over the dirt, and San’s blood quickly covers her hands as she holds down the quickly soaking coat.

The other man cut scoff Hongjoong’s violent rantings as he starts retreating away. “Chase me if you will, but your crewmate won’t make it if you pursue me. Your choice there, Captain Kim, but consider this a warning to you and your crew. Stay out of the Royal Navy’s business and stop looking for your father’s killer, or more of your crew will end up like him.”

The guard them shoves Hongjoong onto the ground and all of them turn and run off into the forest.

Moving quickly, Hongjoong crawls to San, reaching up to cup his face. “Hey, stay with me, I’m gonna get to Yeosang, and we’re gonna get you all stitched up, got it?” He lightly slaps San’s face when he lets his eyes close, “nope, come one stay awake for me.”

“I-I’ve got pressure on the wound,” Alice informs, voice shaky as she can’t look away from the blood covering her hands, “as long as they reach us quickly, he should be okay.”

Hongjoong doesn’t spare he a glare or any gesture that he heard her and it makes her even more scared, her hands now shaking where they sit on San’s gut.

“Captain!” The shout is loud and clear, Mingi bursting into their space with most of the crew in tow.

All of them stumble to a stop around them, string in shock for a second before Yeosang pushes forward and jumps into action.

“Mingi take over for Alex and keep the pressure on his wound,” Yeosang orders, stepping forward to pull Hongjoong back. “Yunho, Jongho, grab him and carry him – carefully! – to the ship, talk to him and see if we can keep him awake, I don’t think it’ll be bad if he passes out, but I don’t want to take that risk.”

Alice lets Mingi push her away and take over keeping the pressure on the wound. They all move quickly and carry him out through the trees, Yeosang leading them and moving leaves as they go. Alice stays seated on the pool of blood, shaking and mentally screaming. The bad luck swirls around her like a typhoon, trying to drown her. Wooyoung looks at her from where he stands helping Hongjoong stand, worry evident in his face. Once Hongjoong’s up though, he rounds her, causing her to fall back from the shock of his voice as he shouts at her.

“This is your fault! If we hadn’t of taken you, and your bad luck curse none of this wouldn’t have happened. My best informant becoming a turncoat?” He scoffs, hard, and glares at her. “Not in a million years. You are to blame, and I swear if San dies, I’m taking your life!” Turning, he rushes away to follow his wounded crew member, leaving Alice and Wooyoung alone in the forest.


	11. Chapter Nine: Tensions High

* * *

 

The forest is silent. Not even a bird's call can be heard. The voices of the crew fade into the brush as they move further and further away, back to the ship where Yeosang will expertly patch up their wounded crewmate. Alice sits on the ground, half in a small pool of blood from the informant who lies lifeless behind her; there are tears at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall as she stares at her shaking, bloodstained hands. Her mind runs a mile a minute, processing the sheer number of horrid things that happened all at once, not even registering the pain in her back where her own wounds still bleed. Those wounds though are just outside of Wooyoung's eyesight from where he stands, pensive and worried rocking on the balls of his feet as he debates how to approach Alice. After a long, quiet few minutes where Alice doesn't move, Wooyoung steps forward, slowly and calls her name.

"Alex?" He whispers, voice gentle as he holds out his hands. "Alex, are you injured anywhere? Yeosang will need to look –" as soon as Wooyoung almost touches her, she jerks away from him violently, falling to her side.

"Don't," she gasps, crawling back from him, "don't, just, don't touch me."

"Okay," Wooyoung crouches down, still ever slowly as he holds his hands up to show her his palms, "I won't touch you, but we should head back to the ship."

Shaking her head, Alice let's out a quiet sob as the tears finally break through.

"No?" Wooyoung sighs, dropping his arms to rest on his knees. "Alex. We need to return to the ship."

She shakes her head again, sniffling as she speaks in a shaky voice, "you should go back, I think it might be best just to leave me here. Ya know, your captain isn't wrong that my curse is the cause of this. I mean, I get it. I'm bad luck now, so you guys should just cut your losses and go. Tell my old crew that I died and just –"

"Leave you here to die?" Wooyoung cuts off in a shocked shout. "Alex, we aren't just going to leave you here."

"But I might have just gotten your crewmate killed!" Alice cries, shaking harder as she looks to Wooyoung with her tear-filled eyes. "I'm no good to any of you. It's just better if I disappear."

Wooyoung sighs, thinking for a second, choosing his words carefully before he speaks again. "Your curse is not your fault, my captain can be rash and harsh and quite an idiot, but we all know a curse is never the fault of the cursed. He knows that."

Shaking her head once again, Alice sniffles and tries to retort, "but it is! If you guys hadn't associated with me, none of this," she gestures to where San was and then the man behind them, "wouldn't have happened. I don't know if it's worth trying to fix it anymore."

"Why wouldn't it be worth it to fix a curse?" Furrowing his brows, he tilts his head in question.

"I can't," Alice chokes, shaking her head still, "I just can't keep letting people die around me. I fear that more people that don't have to die are going to die because of me, and weighing their lives against mine, I seriously don't think my death would be a loss. No one even wants me here, and no one wants me at home, so who would really miss me if you guys just left me here to die?"

Wooyoung feels his heart ache at her words, his face falling as he watches her continue to shake her head, and tears fall from her face.

"We aren't leaving you and, I promise you, you are not unwanted," Wooyoung states, with a dark tone as his eyes harden. "Don't think for a second that your curse makes you unwanted."

Alice laughs a broken strained one. "My former Captain denounced me because of my bad luck."

Sighing, Wooyoung shifts on the dirt, sitting cross-legged with his hands in his lap. "I don't want to defend your former captain – as that was a callous thing to do – but he more denounced you because you made a deal with a pirate he detests and didn't think how it would affect the crew."

"Which wouldn't have happened if I didn't have this curse!"

"Can we even really be sure of that though?" Wooyoung fires back.

"Just," Alice hiccups, reaching up to wipe her tears, but stopping short when she sees her bloody hands, "just trust me Wooyoung, it's better if you go back and leave me here. I won't cause your crew any worry, your captain can go back to his own business, you won't have to deal with this."

Wooyoung just lets her rant, vent out her hysteric frustrations and worries, not inputting anymore as she continues to give reasons why it'd be better just to let her stay here. Eventually, the sun begins to set, and the forest around them darkens. Alice moves to a small tree stump near her to lean on as the air starts to get cold with the setting sun. Wooyoung stays where he sat, watching her closely with his chin resting on his hand. Finally, Alice runs out of things to say to defend leaving her for dead, the silence returning as she turns her tired eyes to Wooyoung and switches the conversation back to Wooyoung.

"Why are you staying with me?" She asks in a quiet, raspy voice. "Shouldn't you be caring for your wounded crewmate?"

"I," Wooyoung's hand twitches and his cold facial expression breaks for only a second, showing a look of almost fear or worry, but he lifts his walls quickly. "I trust Yeosang, and while I'm very – no, extremely worried about San, I trust that Yeosang will take care of him, and I'll be there when he comes to."

"Aren't you worried they'll leave you?" She turns her gaze down, looking at her hands again and staring at the blood.

Taking a deep breath, Wooyoung shakes his head slowly. "He's not leaving either of us here, even if he's mad at you he is well aware that he's irrational and I'm positive he's kicking himself at least a little bit. He and Yeosang are probably waiting for us."

Alice laughs again. "I don't get how you have faith that anyone on that ship cares."

"I care," Wooyoung says, eerily calmly, "and I'm not letting you get left behind. We'll change your mind about your life, I promise."

All Alice can do is laugh again as more tears well up and fall. It breaks Wooyoung's heart to have to sit and watch, but he does, he stays where he sits and waits.

It takes a good while, longer than he'd like it to, but eventually, the exhaustion finally hits Alice, and he sees her eyes fighting to stay open. Wooyoung sits up, watching, and waiting patiently for her to finally knock out completely. He gives it a few minutes after she slumps over and then slowly stands up and approaches her. He's careful to step over the blood and around the mess to grab her.

It's as he gently grabs her shoulders and pulls her off the tree that she whimpers in her sleep, face scrunching up as if she's in pain. Wooyoung freezes for a second, holding his breath until he knows she's still asleep, then he pulls her forward, so her head is on his shoulder and looks at her back. Her white shirt is almost wholly soaked red, slashed open in an 'x' shape similar to the dark red, sickly looking slashes on her back.

"Goddamnit," he curses under his breath, taking in the injuries with his sharp eyes. "Yeosang is going to scold you, that has got to be infected," sighing he shakes his head and carefully wraps an arm around her back. Even though it causes her pain when he lifts her, with his other arm under her knees, he easily lifts her and turns around to walk back to the ship.

The sun has reached the horizon line by the time they break through the forest. The world around them darkening quickly as he has to take his time and not jostle her back too much. It's as he's approaching the ship, lit with lanterns, that he hears the familiar voices of his captain and navigator.

"Look, I get she's cursed, but yelling at her all the time is doing no good, and you know it," Yeosang snaps out, voice full of withheld anger. "Don't even try to defend your actions, you know you need to step back. I honestly think at this point, you don't want to simply admit that you're letting superstitions get the better of you. So, you want to prove you're right even though you clearly know you're in the wrong."

"Curse aside," Hongjoong seethes out through his teeth, "she has been quite a hassle on this ship. I'm not just going to accept her as a part of the crew so easily, she has to prove herself."

Yeosang scoffs, "I am fairly positive she just saved San's life, twice actually."

By this point, Wooyoung reaches the cliff where he can clearly see the pair by the main mast, glaring each other down, but Yeosang's words ring in his head, and a huge weight suddenly lifts off his shoulders, causing him to stumble, bringing their attention to him.

"San's okay?" Wooyoung breaths out, eyes hopefully but still full of worry.

Yeosang looks at him, "yes, he'll need to rest, but he'll be okay," then his eyes flicker down to Alice and he sucks in a sharp breath when he sees her back. "Hongjoong did you forget to tell me something about your encounter?" He brushes past Hongjoong and helps Wooyoung walk up the plank onto the ship, carefully opening up Alice's shirt back to see the extent of the wounds. "Did she fall into the dirt? How much blood is hers?"

"I think it's just her back that's injured," Wooyoung comments, eyeing Alice's grimacing face where it rests on his shoulder. "She wouldn't let me touch her, but she was sitting in a small pool of blood; I believe it was the dead informant's though," he moves his eyes up to Hongjoong, staring him down as he tells them the next part of info. "She was also completely convinced it would be better for her to die than go on and try to fix this curse."

There's a moment where Hongjoong's mask drops, worry takes over, and he looks guilty for a good few seconds before he pulls his mask back up.

"Just," Hongjoong sighs, waving his hand, "I just have one more question, what do you mean she saved him twice, Yeosang?"

Yeosang rolls his eyes, turning to look at Hongjoong over his shoulder, "when we got raided on the ship, she ran across the deck to kill the men trying to kill San. I couldn't get to him and by the time I turned around she had already saved him and if she hadn't of reacted as quickly as she did, San would've bled out in the forest. So yes, twice she saved San and once she even defended this ship."

Hongjoong bites his lip as Yeosang turns away again.

"Let's get her to the infirmary, we need to clean this, stitch it up, and then find her new clothes," Yeosang leads the way, and holds the door open for Wooyoung, leaving Hongjoong alone on deck with his own strained thoughts.

Alice stays asleep throughout the procedure, which Yeosang is thankful for. Wooyoung stands by just in case she wakes up, but his eyes mostly stay focused on San's sleeping form in one of the other cots. Once Yeosang finishes up the stitches, he pauses and looks to Wooyoung.

"For her privacy why don't you go sit with San, maybe take a nap in the cot next him," Yeosang states, making a motion with his hand for Wooyoung to leave. "I opt for the sleep option, as you've been up this entire time with her and us."

As Wooyoung moves over, the door creaks open, and Hongjoong walks in carrying something in his hands. Raising a brow, Yeosang rises from his stool and meets him halfway.

"I grabbed a black shirt from our stash," Hongjoong explains, holding up the garment, "it'll look better, and she won't stick out from the crew, then I had Yunho get fresh pants from her room."

Clicking his tongue, Yeosang nods his head and takes the clothes, "of course Yunho is still up, he's been worried sick about her since they took so long to come back. Did you reassure him she's fine and send him to bed?"

"I did," Hongjoong nods, letting his hands hang in the air for a second before clenching his fists and pulling them behind his back. "Will they both recover fine?"

Yeosang nods, turning to Alice and placing the clothes on the stool. "By the time we reach Ocracoke, they should be able to go back to duties, but if I even see San on the rigging, I will shoot him down."

"Duly noted," Wooyoung calls out sleepily from where he sits, back against the wall and head tipped back, "don't let San climb."

"Go to sleep you," Yeosang points at him, "and don't bitch at me if you wake up with neck pain."

Wooyoung simply waves him off before crossing his arms over his chest and letting out a long sleepy breath, slipping quickly into a deep sleep. Hongjoong watches the action fondly, mask gone entirely as he smiles at his crewmate, but his smile falters when Yeosang turns back to him with a frown.

Sighing, Hongjoong nods his head, knowing what Yeosang is going to say before he even does. "I'll try to be nicer to her, but I can't make any promises. And I'm not the only one who doesn't really want her here."

"I know," Yeosang rolls his eyes, "Seonghwa and Mingi have made it very clear, Seonghwa is just less vocal than you, but as we all know, his looks can kill."

Hongjoong hums in agreement, knowing very well that at times it's his quartermaster that's crueler then him without any words needing to be said. He's broken out of his train of thought by Yeosang chuckling, and he realizes that his eyes had drifted to Alice's resting face, twisted still in pain.

"I can't believe you gave her a black shirt, I really thought she'd forever be the stand out member of our crew," Yeosang smiles, picking up the clothes again.

The comment though makes Hongjoong frown. "Don't mistake my kindness Yeosang, she still isn't a crewmate of yours, just a special passenger," he says in a low tone, before turning around and taking his leave.

He doesn't hear Yeosang's next comment, muttered under his breath as the door swings closed, "you say that, but actions always speak louder than words."

San is awake by the next morning, and Wooyoung stays by his side most of the day, watching over him and helping Yeosang clean his wound. Wooyoung fills him in on what happened with Alice, who stays asleep in her cot. Yeosang tends to her on and off throughout the day but spends a majority of the day getting navigation set up for Mingi. It isn't until Wooyoung walks over to check on her that he realizes something's wrong. Her face is red, flushed and sweating, her skin hot to the touch, and her face is still twisted in a look of pain.

"You should get Yeosang," San calls out from his spot across the room, peering at Alice cautiously, "she doesn't look good."

Nodding, Wooyoung stands there for a second more before going to fetch Yeosang.

As soon as Wooyoung quietly relays the information to him, he immediately dismisses himself from helping Mingi and quietly asks Wooyoung to get him a bucket of water and a rag. While Wooyoung takes care of that, he heads back to the infirmary. He greets San with a warm smile before sweeping down to Alice, rolling up the sleeve of his black shirt and laying the inside of his forearm over her forehead. Humming and frowning, he nods his head and pulls his arm back, grabbing a stool to sit on just as Wooyoung comes in. He takes the bucket from him and immediately dips the rag in, while clicking his tongue.

"I had a feeling with all the dirt in it this would happen," Yeosang sighs, wringing out the rag over the bucket before pushing her hair out of the way and placing the cloth gently on her forehead, "it's infected, so naturally the body is fighting it off with a fever."

Wooyoung stands pensive beside him, eyes watching Alice's face. "Will she be okay, though?"

"It may take her longer to wake up, but she'll be fine," Yeosang reassures, smiling at him. "And San, you can go back to your on-deck duties tomorrow morning."

San grins brightly at that, "thank god, sitting in here makes me stir crazy."

"But no climbing," Yeosang warns, holding up a finger, "or I'll shoot you down."

"Ah!" Wooyoung shouts in surprise, pointing to Yeosang and declaring, "I thought I dreamt that! I should've known that was an actual warning from you."

Yeosang smirks, "it was, so no climbing for at least a week. The wound needs to close, and I don't need you pulling your stitches and bleeding all over the ship. Seonghwa would have my head, he's already bitched quite enough about the blood and bodies he had to clean up already, don't need him to bitch about anything else."

The muttered grumblings make both San and Wooyoung laugh, but the laughing pulls at San's stomach, and his laughter turns to hisses of pain, which draw Wooyoung's attention and makes him rush to his side.

"Seriously," Yeosang mumbles, "don't pull your stitches."

It takes two more days for them to reach the far shore island of Ocracoke, just off the main shores of the colonies. For Alice, her fever breaks the night before they arrive and late their first night at shore, she wakes up.

The room is dark, lit by a single lantern over by the main desk. As Alice blinks open her eyes, her tired brain takes a second to comprehend where she is and what has happened. Slowly, she lifts her hand up to touch her forehead where a dull throb begins behind her eyes. Groaning at how heavy her limbs feel, she shifts and breaths out before closing her eyes, squeezing them closed as she tries to remember why she's laying in a cot and not down in her room of the ship. She can faintly here noises outside, the sounds of the crew gathered on deck, they sound to be relaxing or heading out somewhere. Sighing, Alice places her hand back by her side and squeezes her eyes tighter, trying to will away the pain and remember what happened.

Memories trickle in slowly, flashes at first. A ship, a battle, searing pain, San.

"San!" Alice jerks up with a quiet shout, wild eyes looking around the room, knowing it's Yeosang's room, searching for San. Pain rips up her spine, causing her to let out a high whine as she slumps forward over her legs after seeing no one in the room with her. The dull throb turns into a sharp pain as she forces herself to sit back up, biting her lip.

It's at that moment that the door opens, letting in bright light from the well-lit main deck, causing Alice to flinch away and groan in more pain.

"You're awake!" Yeosang's voice calls out, shock and relief painted on his face as he quickly closes the door and rushes over. "Why are you sitting up, lay back down," he gently takes her shoulders and rights her, pushing her back to lay down slowly.

As she lays back, she notes that there are extra blankets under her back, making it softer on her wounds.

"Where's San?" She asks, eyes full of worry. "Did he make it?"

"He's fine," Yeosang reassures, pulling his sleeve up to recheck her forehead temperature, "he's already back on duty, just some restrictions which means he has to rely on the crew more than he likes. You still have a slight fever," he moves over to the side and slides a bucket over, pulling a wet rag out, "you'll still need to rest a bit more, but first," leaning forward, Yeosang lifts his hand and delivers a rather hard flick right to her forehead.

Yelping in surprise, Alice turns away from him and grabs her head.

"Ow," she whines, rubbing her forehead, "what was that for?"

"For being stupid and thinking dying is a better option," he states, matter-of-factly and very calmly as he makes her move back and gently lays the rag across her forehead, instantly easing her headache. "That was very dumb of you to think that we wouldn't care. Yunho and Jongho have been checking on you constantly. Wooyoung stayed with your dumbass and brought you back despite being more worried about San, idiot. The both you are idiots."

Alice takes a second to process the information, squinting her eyes as she thinks. Sure, Wooyoung stayed with her, but she didn't think much of it but Yunho and Jongho, that surprised her.

"Yunho and Jongho?" she asks quietly, looking up at Yeosang.

He nods his head, "yep, those two have been worried sick wondering how you are. Thankfully, they haven't completely raided my room, and I did convince them to go out and relax tonight while we're docked."

"Wait, wait," Alice holds her hands up, "we're already at Ocracoke? How long was I out for?"

Yeosang hums, crossing his arms, "three days, I think. Not long, had some people stay out longer from injuries worse than yours. I do have some bad news though," he sighs and frowns, "your wounds did get infected, you fought off the fever well, and I cleaned them as best I could, but I'm positive they will scare."

Alice hums. "I few scares isn't a big deal though."

"Two long, large scars across your whole back?" Yeosang raises a brow. "I think that's a little bit of a big deal, scars come with memories, and I don't think you're going to want them."

"It's fine," Alice reassures him, reaching out to pat his leg. "Now, just tell me when I'm allowed to leave this place and return to my duties, I don't need your Captain mad that I'm not pulling my weight around here. I'd like to fill in for San-"

Yeosang cuts her off with protest, which is also joined by chorus protest from Yunho who stands in the now open doorway, stepping inside.

"You literally just woke up," Yunho declares, baffled, "and you want to jump into work? Are you kidding me?"

"I can't just lay around," Alice defends, trying to sit up again only for Yunho this time to walk over and push her down.

"At least rest the night," Yeosang pleads.

Yunho makes a noise of agreement, pushing her shoulders back. "I'm just happy you woke up, but you still need to rest. You endured a lot."

Even though Alice wants to fight, to protest that San has obviously been through more, she lets Yunho force her back and pulls her lips into a tight line, making both of the boys frown at her. "I will rest one night," she declares, holding up a finger, "but that's it. Then I need to return to my room and my duties."

The pair share a look with each other before Yunho nods.

"Fine," Yeosang declares, "but then you have to sleep. At least now I know you'll be okay, with you waking up and the fever breaking, you will for sure heal."

"I'll make her tea," Yunho declares, standing up again, "and let Jongho know she's awake."

Alice makes a face of distaste, frowning, "what happened to calling me a guy?"

"Oh!" Yunho looks at her in surprise. "Uh, sorry, we've all been in a bit of shock since everything went down."

Nodding in agreement, Yeosang reaches out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "We'll make sure everyone still refers to you as a 'he,' don't worry, we haven't conversed outside of the ship, so you're okay for now."

"Okay," is all Alice says in response, in a quiet voice, unsure if she even wants to hide her gender anymore, but knowing she really has to.

Yunho is only gone for a short bit before returning with a large cup of tea, which he makes her drink all of. Once she's swallowed it all, Yunho expresses his joy that she's okay before taking his leave. Yeosang heads to his desk, going over his navigation maps while Alice is forced to lay there and wait for sleep to take her.

When the sun rises again, Alice feels ten times better and more rested than she had when she first woke up, her fever now gone and headache cured. She's able to stand up, stretch and let Yeosang clean up her wound and check her stitches. He warns her against climbing, as he did San, for at least a day or two more and then he'll take the stitches out. Once word spreads that she is awake and moving, the medical room is filled with people.

Wooyoung and Jongho show up first, Jongho giving her a quick, gentle hug and smile before he has to return to help San set up to ship out. Wooyoung stays by her side, continually asking if she's sure she's okay. It's as she's reassuring him again that she is okay, that Hongjoong and Seonghwa enter, bringing in a cold atmosphere.

Hongjoong eyes for a good minute, examining her where she sits next to Wooyoung, making her feel shy enough to look away.

"I'm glad you're okay," the words surprise her, and she looks up to make sure Hongjoong actually said them. "I mean it."

Standing behind Hongjoong, Seonghwa looks unimpressed, face stoic as he looks anywhere but at Alice.

"And," he draws out the word, seeming to fight with himself as he rocks his head side to side, "I shall revoke my previous rule. You may now work and be above deck with the crew, but," he holds up a hand, "only when Seonghwa is around as he will be keeping a close eye on you. Still, you'll be following Wooyoung's orders, and your only duties above deck will be to help Wooyoung help San with the rigging."

"She shouldn't," Yeosang begins to protest, standing up to defend her, but she stands up too.

"Okay," she declares, listing a hand to motion Yeosang to sit down, "I can help with rigging and sails easily, it will be no issue."

"Good," Hongjoong nods his head once. "We will be heading out for our homestead sometime tonight. We just need to finish getting supplies. You can rest here until morning and then return to your room and duties," he nods to her and then turns and walks out, Seonghwa trailing behind him, but not before sending a quick glare to Alice.

"You are still an idiot," Yeosang sighs, slumping into his chair. "Your wound is in no way ready for you to be climbing the rigging with Wooyoung."

"I need to help, Yeosang," she sighs, sitting back down next to Wooyoung. "I'll be fine."

Neither Wooyoung nor Yeosang looks convinced, both with frowns on their faces as they watch Alice sigh.

Then, finally, San returns to the room, poking his head in. He scans the room for a second and smiles when his eyes land on Wooyoung and Alice.

"Just who I'm looking for," San says in a chipper voice, giving a broad smile as he practically skips over to Alice.

Looking at him with wide eyes, she points a finger to herself and asks, "me?"

San makes a hum of affirmation, still smiling. "I wanted to thank you."

That makes Alice tilt her head to the side like a confused puppy, making San's smile grow larger. "Thank me? For what exactly?"

San laughs, "for saving my life, of course."

Alice stutters out a breath, cheeks flushing as she waves her hands to try and protest, making everyone in the room grow fond smiles. "I didn't, you shouldn't, it was nothing really, San."

"It was," San nods his head in affirmation, "so thank you," he then leans forward and pulls her into a hug. He's careful of her wounds, but he gives her a tight squeeze before pulling back, "and I'm glad you're okay too. I'm sorry if I ever seemed to be cold, I was simply unsure, but you saved my life twice, so thank you."

Feeling embarrassed, she pulls her hands into her lap and lets out a quiet, "you're welcome, I guess."

San ruffles her hair before declaring that he's heading out to help complete some trades and asks Wooyoung to join him. Wooyoung does, reluctant to leave Alice, but following non-the-less.

As soon as it's just Alice and Yeosang, who sports a shit-eating grin, he gets up, walks to her, and pats her shoulder.

"See? I told you, you were an idiot for thinking we wouldn't care about you."


	12. Chapter Ten: Inagua Islands

* * *

 

“If Yeosang comes out and sees you, he is going to shoot you,” are the frustrated words grumbled by Wooyoung as he stares down his partner in crime.

 

The ocean crashes gently around the ship as it sails on across the sea, mixing with the gentle breeze to create an atmospheric calming background noise alongside the quiet muttering of the crew below. The wind whips around them, rustling the sails and netting surrounding them as Wooyoung holds the netting in his hand, waiting for Alice to finish her climb up to him.

 

Alice simply flashes him a smile and holds out her hand once she reaches him. “Well what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, San even agreed to turn a blind eye,” she grunts in slight pain as Wooyoung takes her hand and hoists her up into the main crow’s nest on the mizzen mast. Once her feet are safely out of the netting and standing on the wood, she hunches over and hisses quietly as her back muscles strain around the scarring tissue.

 

Sighing, Wooyoung shakes his head, turning to climb up the netting to the crosstree. “I know we agreed you would help me on deck fill in for San, but I didn’t mean climbing up here with me. It would’ve been fine. Man, are you stubborn. I am honestly surprised you and the captain don’t get along.”

 

Heaving a sigh, Alice stretches her back slightly as she straightens up to stand, “and why is that exactly?”

 

“He’s just as stubborn,” he pauses his climbing and looks back down at her, “there was one time, he almost got his leg cut off. Took an axe right to the back of his calf, but Yeosang is a literal magic healer and stitched him up easily. The trouble was that he wouldn’t rest, similar to,” he gestures down to Alice, making her frown. “So, in the end, we had Jongho literally carry him to his room, and Seonghwa locked him in.”

 

Alice chuckles at the image of their strong youngest carrying their fierce leader and tilts her head, resting her hands on her hips as she asks, “is that a subtle threat?”

 

“A very subtle one,” Wooyoung flashes her a wide, cheeky grin before climbing the rest of the way up to the crosstree. “Wait there while I fix this sail.”

 

The topgallant sail above sits slightly askew, blown wild by some strong winds the night prior that rolled across the island before they set sail. Alice steps towards the edge of the crow’s nest, watching closely as Wooyoung straddles the topgallant yard, carefully pulling the sail into position and tightening the ties. From where he sits, the sun strikes his silver hair just right, giving him an angelic like glow, a sharp contrast to his pitch-black attire. Glancing down to her own black long sleeve button up, messing with the cuff that hangs on her palm. It feels strange to be above deck, to look like the rest of the crew, to almost feel a part of the crew but knowing all too well she’s not.

 

“How were the other sails, San?” Wooyoung calls out, leaning over the yard to see San below them, standing by Mingi who’s manning the helm.

 

Alice shifts her gaze across the sails she can see from her position, scanning each in turn. The main sails look fine and in the proper position, so she turns her focus back to San.

 

“The foremast needs to be checked,” San calls up, pointing towards the mast that sits above Yeosang’s room. “I think the royal might need fixing and the foresail for sure needs adjusting.”

 

Wooyoung throws up and okay signs before swinging his leg back over the yard and dropping down back to the crosstree. As soon as he steps down into the netting, Alice reaches forward to place a hand on it just in case as the wind picks up another strong gust. He descends easily though and steps down next to her.

 

“I’ll go down first,” he points behind her to the next net, “that way if you slip or anything I’ll catch you, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Alice holds up her own okay sign with a small smile.

 

As Wooyoung begins his descent to the deck of the ship, Alice lets her eyes scan over the crew milling around. Most of the main crew is underdeck relaxing or in their respective rooms. San of course of taking care of the sails with their help, Mingi is steering the ship since Hongjoong is currently taking a break in his quarters, and the only other main crew on deck is Seonghwa. Staring up at her, he has his arms crossed leaning on the far railing by the main mast. His eyes aren’t necessarily glaring at her, but there’s a distance in them, and a cold chill runs down her spine as she looks away, shaking her head so her hair covers her eyes from his view. She spins around quickly once Wooyoung is at the bottom, scaling the net quicker than she should, Wooyoung notes this quietly and simply has a hand resting gently on her back as she finishes her descent.

 

Together they walk down and across the ship towards the forecastle. Passing Seonghwa, whose eyes don’t leave Alice, she keeps her head down and stays a pace behind Wooyoung. She stays silent as they climb to the forecastle deck and keeps her eyes on Wooyoung as he easily scales up to the fore crow’s nest and turns to motion her to climb. She glances to see Seonghwa leaning on the railing, now with his body turned towards them and eyes still sharply watching. Biting her lip and shaking her head, she climbs to Wooyoung.

 

“Can we just,” she sighs, letting Wooyoung pull her up carefully up, “just point out that everyone knows I shouldn’t be climbing, but I didn’t even have to bribe Seonghwa or Mingi to keep their mouths shut? They just didn’t care.”

 

Humming, Wooyoung steals a glance at his crewmates before shrugging. “Mingi doesn’t want to cross the captain, and he’s naturally quiet with newbies. Seonghwa is just generally hesitant to trust you, given your history, but they are both really soft-hearted. They’ll come around.”

 

Alice snorts, shaking her head and pushing her wind-blown hair out of her eyes before turning her eyes to the sails, diverting the conversation. “The Royal needs fixing, it looks like a tie or two came loose. If you climb up to fix it, I can stay here and fix the foresail.”

 

“Your back,” Wooyoung trails off, glancing at her shoulder as if he can see her back, but she hardens her eyes and glares at him, “never mind. I’ll head up to the royal, just don’t fall off the yard.”

 

With a heavy sigh, Alice turns to climb back on the netting as Wooyoung easily scales the other netting. With careful steps, she manages to pull herself onto the yard, straddling the yard effortlessly and ignoring the pain in her back as she leans over to check each knot and adjust their placement.

 

The wind blowing her hair around softly feels great on her headed skin. While the fever had mostly gone away, it was still lingering and making her tired beyond belief from little exercise, but she keeps that close to her belt and focuses on the calming sound of the ocean waves, grounding herself with the rough feel of the rope knots. As she reaches the edge of the yard, working on the far knots, she pauses for a second to take a long, deep breath and close her eyes. The wind picks up for a split second, whipping her hair and making her smile even as the ship rocks under her over a rough wave. The ocean still feels like home, like peace, and she takes a second to bask in the feeling as the sun shines through the clouds. After she takes it in, she quickly works to finish the rest of the ties.

 

It’s as she’s finishing up the last knot near the very edge of the yard that Yeosang’s door opens with a loud creak and he steps out, eyes immediately landing on Seonghwa who had turned to look at him.

 

Alice stops immediately at the noise, holding still as she slowly turns, eyes wide as she finds Yeosang striding over to Seonghwa, quietly inquiring at her. Her eyes plead for him to be quiet, but he simply glances at her and smirks with an evil little glint in his eyes. San is rushing over, calling to Yeosang to gain his attention too, flashing him a bright smile as he gently holds his arm. Taking a quick glance up to Wooyoung, he motions for her to hurry up to the crow’s nest, pointing quickly as he sits upon the royal sail yard, fingers working deftly to try and finish the sail.

 

Below, Yeosang smiles at San asking about Alice but Seonghwa intervenes with a quick throat clear, and lifts his hand to gesture to where Alice sits.

 

Once Yeosang’s eyes turn and land on Alice, he lets out a long string of curses. “The fuck is he doing up there? I thought I told him not to climb! Alex!” Her names come out in a shout, which sounds oddly terrifying in his softer voice. “Wooyoung!” The second man in question just chuckles to himself, shaking his head as he pauses his work to look at him. “I told you not to let him climb anything, and now look at him!”

 

Sheepishly, Alice gives Yeosang a wave before shimming her way back to the crow’s nest.

 

“Sitting on the yard like a reckless idiot,” Yeosang seethes out, crossing his arms and glaring at the pair.

 

“The fore royal is secured,” Wooyoung calls out before leaning over to look at the sail Alice had fixed, “and so is the foresail. Sailing should be smooth from here on out with no issues.” San gives him an okay sign with a smile, giving him permission to climb back down.

 

The pair take their time reaching the main deck, giving each other knowing looks as they meet on the crow’s nest before climbing down to meet their fate.

 

Yeosang and San meet them as they descend from the forecastle deck, Yeosang’s arms still crossed as he glares at Alice.

 

“Are you kidding me?” He asks, clicking his tongue. “Do you want to end up back in the infirmary? I can easily make that happen without needing you to pull your stitches, just ask I can.”

 

“Yeosang, it had to be done!” Alice defends, frowning.

 

Wooyoung and San both nod their heads. “We needed to fix the sails quickly,” San explains as Wooyoung adds, “I couldn’t fix them all on my own that fast, and we had already set sail.”

 

Glaring at each other in turn, Yeosang growls out, “that’s not the point, he could’ve been seriously hurt. And his stitches!”

 

A throat clear from behind draws all their eyes to Seonghwa, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. “If I may,” he interjects, glaring at Alice before turning it Yeosang, “I don’t think we should really be caring too much about him, if he wants to do risky things despite his health, then is it our place to worry?”

 

“Seonghwa,” Yeosang turns to stare down his crewmate, dropping an arm as he points to Alice, “he hasn’t even had his stitches removed, he could honestly hurt himself by pulling them.”

 

“And?” Seonghwa raises a brow as he looks to Alice. “Is that really any of our problem? He’s inconsequential.”

 

Ouch. Alice bites the inside of her cheek as she turns her gaze to look down at the crystal blue ocean, sweeping past the ship just past the railing, effectively blocking the hurt on her face from the rest of the crew as her hair falls over her face.

 

“Don’t,” Yeosang breaths, pointing at him, “don’t even start on this again Seonghwa, I don’t want to hear it.”

 

“Um,” nervously, San speaks up, looking wearily between the pair that look seconds away from throwing down and starting a brawl. “I think everything above deck is in order for the trip home, Alice and Wooyoung, you’re dismissed until needed. Go relax.”

 

Gently, Wooyoung wraps an arm around Alice’s shoulder as he acknowledges the order with a soft “aye” before he quietly guides her away down the deck. San watches them closely with his sharp eyes until their shadows disappear into the ship and then he rounds on the other two.

 

“Both of you need to chill,” he snaps, glaring darkly, “fighting amongst ourselves is no way to make things work.”

 

“I just don’t understand,” Seonghwa lets out, reaching a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose as he lowers his head, “why do we need to care about him? Why are you all getting so close to him? I’m not wrong when I say he’s inconsequential, nothing to us but a job. We really shouldn’t let ourselves get close, it may just cause us grief if he causes our crew members any more pain.”

 

“Seriously?!” Yeosang growls, eyes igniting with fire as he steps forward. “He saves San twice, protects our crew and ship, and you still think he’s bad luck?”

 

Seonghwa raises his head to look at him, tilting as he stares blank face. “Tell me, honestly, do you think any of that would have happened if he wasn’t around us, with his curse that has well proven to be the cause?”

 

Yeosang opens his mouth and raises his hand to defend Alice, but freezes and clicks his teeth shut in a snarl.

 

“See,” Seonghwa waves his hand before clasping it back behind him again, “you all know I’m right. Don’t get caught up with him, I don’t think he’s going to last,” nodding his head he turns back to head up to the helm where Mingi is watching the whole interaction.

 

Both San and Yeosang stand frozen in place, glancing at each other with knowing, guilty eyes. They’ll admit, they like Alice, but they also can’t deny that her admitting to her curse and all the events around her are, in fact, because of her curse, and that does make it hard. Together, they sigh and let their shoulders fall.

 

“Go check on him,” San waves his hand, giving him a small smile, “you can check on my wound later, but make sure her stitches are still okay.”

 

Yeosang nods before tossing his head back and letting out a long breath.

 

“I know you want to fight,” San pats his shoulder, “but I’m am not in the mood to try and boost moral today, so go below deck and then cool off and come check on me.”

 

“Fine,” Yeosang snaps his head back, wavy bangs bouncing as he nods twice and strides away.

 

Below in the galley, Alice sits with Wooyoung as Yunho dishes them out some food for a lunch break. Wooyoung is going over the inventory they need to move and quietly pondering how many cannon balls they need to move up just in case as he flips through a small leather-bound journal. As soon as Yeosang steps in, Alice flashes him a sheepish smile as she reaches for her food.

 

“So,” she hums, picking up a spoon and eyeing Yeosang, “how much trouble am I in?”

 

“If you didn’t pull any stitches,” he pauses for effect as he pulls out the chair across from her to sit in, “only a bit of trouble. Eat first, I’ll check after.”

 

Alice takes advantage of his lax mood and starts eating immediately, humming happily at the tasty food. “God, Yunho how do you make even the blandest food taste good?” She inquires, happily shoving another spoonful of soup into her mouth. “I’m so used to the slop like food on other ships, this is just amazing.”

 

Yunho basks under the praise, flashing her a shy smile. “I never used to be able to cook,” he admits as he walks back to put the pot down on the counter.

 

“Didn’t you join as a cook who couldn’t cook?” Wooyoung pipes up after swallowing his food.

 

Both Yeosang and Alice perk at that, turning to face the man in question whose face has reddened as he wipes his hands on his black pants.

 

“Um,” he chuckles nervously, “yes, when I joined the crew, I lied to them and said I could cook. I mean, who is gonna turn down a full-time cook, right?”

 

The cackling laughter he gets in response from Yeosang, clapping his hands together as he laughs at him, makes him rest his hands on his hips and stares at his crewmate.

 

“Oh yeah,” he begins to challenge leveling him with a solid glare, “you laugh at me but weren’t you just a doctor when you were swept up off the bar floor.”

 

Abruptly cutting off his laughter, Yeosang points to Yunho, “I didn’t lie though, they knew I was a doctor when they swept me off that floor. I learned on the job more honestly.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Yunho throws his hands up, “same thing just without a lie, Yeosang.”

 

“How did you learn to cook then?” Alice inquires with a light voice, genuinely curious as she finishes off her food in record time and stands up, quickly walking over to take more from the pot.

 

Yunho smiles at her antics, happy to see her eating more than she has. With her not properly recovering, he knows she needs to eat a lot more than other crew members. Once she’s back in her seat, Yunho moves over to join them taking the seat next to Yeosang as he explains his story.

 

“While it pained my soul to do it before we left once I was accepted into the crew I got a whole collection of recipe and cooking books,” he states, “and it pained me because I was from a rich family and they sent me rog rammer school. Can you believe that? They sent my brother and me to that horrific place where all we did was read and write all day twenty-four seven. By the time I broke out I detested books and was perfectly fine being a deckhand, but there were a lot of us running around so I needed an occupation any captain would take, so I blurted out that I was a cook! Seonghwa was – correctly – skeptical of it, but Mingi ultimately let me join, and I had to collect the things I hate to save my life.”

 

“By collect,” Yeosang raises a brow, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, “you mean steal right?”

 

“Of course,” he snorts, “like I’d have the money to buy all that, please. Did you not steal navigation journals and maps?”

 

“Not technically,” Yeosang gets this dark grin on his face, “they gave them to me quite willingly after some,” he hums, “persuasion.”

 

“Crafty,” Wooyoung comments, laughing.

 

“Terrifying,” Alice supplies, getting an agreeable nod from Wooyoung.

 

“I feel like you both are thinking of two different things when I ‘persuasion,’” Yeosang comments, laughing lightly.

 

Wooyoung and Alice look at each other, staring at each other with curious eyes, wondering if they are thinking of the same thing.

 

“Okay,” Yunho leans forward to rest his arms on the table, “on the count of three, say what you think it is. One, two, three.”

 

“Seducing.” “Torture.”

 

Alice chokes on air, coughing in surprise as she looks to Wooyoung whose staring at her with wide eyes.

 

“Torture?” He asks in a high pitched, scandalous voice.

 

“What?” Alice defends between coughs. “Like I get seducing, but he’s fucking terrifying too. I would not put it past him to be down for torture.”

 

Yeosang snorts, face twisting in disgust, “that is all Jongho’s job, I don’t dabble in that messy stuff. I am a doctor raised by a doctor, remember that.”

 

With a roll of her eyes, she let’s go, only muttering a quiet, “even your seduction techniques are terrifying though.”

 

“More mean,” Yunho adds, resting his head on his hand as he looks to Yeosang. “You get the guys and girls to fall for your pretty eyes, do what you want, give you what you want, and then you disappear into the city like smoke. Heartbreak follows you everywhere you go.”

 

By this point, Wooyoung is trying desperately to hold back his laughter to Yunho’s teasing, sad voice as he reaches out to pat Yeosang’s shoulder, who is now staring unimpressed at him.

 

“Oh my god,” Wooyoung lets some laughs slip through, but holds them in so he can finish his thought, “that’s why your crush keeps blowing you off. Your crush is so immune to your charms!” He breaks off into wild laughter that causes him to push his chair back and curl in on himself.

 

A fierce blush rips across Yeosang’s face as he opens his mouth in shock and embarrassment.

 

“You’re right!” Yunho claps his hands and points to Yeosang as he bits his lip. “She ghosts you every time we dock there, she doesn’t actually give in as you expect. This is perfect!”

 

After catching his breath, Wooyoung turns to Yunho, grinning, “we have to tell the crew later, they are gonna give him hell.”

 

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Yeosang grumbles, sinking into his chair.

 

“I’m sorry,” Alice cuts in, lifting a hand to draw attention to her, “but what is going on?”

 

Wooyoung is all too eager to scoot closer to Alice and spill Yeosang’s secrets. “There’s this girl, cute former slave girl that helps run trade in one of our frequent docks, not too far from our home. Yeosang is painfully and hopelessly in love with her.”

 

“I’m not in love!” Yeosang almost violent protest, sitting up too fast to even Alice raises a brow at him.

 

“He is,” Yunho whispers with a giggle.

 

“Anyway,” Wooyoung continues, “so yes that’s the girl he always tries to seduce. First, he tried his usual strong stare that makes people pause and do as he says, but she laughed at him and walked away. Painful. Then he just tried being nice, and now they’re kinda just friends, even his genuine awkward flirting doesn’t make her notice him.”

 

Groaning in pure embarrassment, Yeosang drops his head. “It still doesn’t matter, I bet you after this journey she’s gonna ask ‘Yeosang, who?’ I might not even look for here when we return from Ireland, save me the embarrassment.”

 

Yunho and Wooyoung break out into more laughter at Yeosang’s demise, and even Alice let’s out a light chuckle of her own as Yeosang reaches over to smack Yunho’s arm, hard. It’s pleasant, and it makes Alice feel warm and relaxed as the three continue to bicker and tease each other.

 

Once the food is gone, Yeosang makes the pair turn their backs so he can check Alice’s wounds. The stitches are intact, and he simply rubs a balm over the scars before helping her put her shirt back in place. Her and Wooyoung then head out to finish organizing the under deck and rearranging the storage. That night, Alice has some of Yunho’s special tea and crashes into her bed peacefully and happy to just rest.

 

The next week is relatively lackluster and in a similar fashion. Help San and Wooyoung above deck, clean where Seonghwa wants, help Yunho cook for the crew, help Wooyoung under deck, double check storage, and crash into bed. Alice notes that Hongjoong spends most of this time in his cabin, away from sight and only surfacing at night when Alice doesn’t dare venture above deck as Seonghwa is usually asleep by then and she doesn’t dare risk getting caught by the captain. Her stitches are removed five days in, Yeosang going over the scar with more ointment before declaring it’ll finish healing on its own as long as she doesn’t strain herself too much over the next few days.

 

It’s on the evening of their seventh day as Alice is double checking the cannons with Wooyoung that San makes a call from above.

 

“Land in sight! Inagua Islands ahead!”

 

The crew on deck cheers and Alice thinks she faintly hears the sound of the captain surfacing, but she can’t be sure.

 

“We should head up,” Wooyoung pops up beside her. “I think we’re going to dock here for the night and sail out in the morning once everything is clear.”

 

Nodding silently, Alice lets her hand drop from the cannon as Wooyoung guides her up through the decks with the rest of the crew as they all congregate on the main deck.

 

The wind is low, barely moving the sails and ocean, leaving the air calm and quiet. Hongjoong stands at the helm instead of Mingi, steering the ship carefully through the rocks and into a little cove, it’s just big enough to fit their ship through the twin rock walls. Alice stares up in awe at the size of the cliffs as she walks over to the railing. The sun has sunk past the horizon line already, leaving the whole forests and cliffs surround them in a dark blue hue. None of the ship lanterns have been lit yet, so the cliff shrouds the ship in darkness until they emerge into a small lake surrounded by trees all along the shore. Squinting her eyes, Alice looks for any kind of dock or sign of life on the island, but it’s quiet.

 

Slipping up next to her, Yeosang quietly says, “there aren’t many people who live here yet, just workers who come into the island infrequently to help us build our houses and establishments. Plus, this is a secondary entrance we use when we’re worried about things.”

 

“The captain is worried that something may have happened,” Alice breaths out slowly, processing the information, “because of me, correct?”

 

Sighing, Yeosang nods.

 

They sail across the lake in mostly silence, only broken by the quiet murmurs of the crew talking amongst each other. Eventually, they sailed up to a small dock coming out of the tree line, just big enough for one ship to dock on. San and Wooyoung quickly jump from the ship to the wooden planks, clacking under their boots as they promptly tie the ship down and secure it in place before helping Jongho and another crew member lower the plank. Seonghwa and Mingi disembark first, the rest of the crew following as he guides them across the dock, into the trees, and out of Alice’s sight.

 

Just as she’s pushing off the railing, Hongjoong sweeps down from the helm walking straight for her.

 

“Stay on the ship,” is his demand that makes both Alice and Yeosang blink.

 

“Captain,” Yeosang tilts his head, “why are we staying on the ship?”

 

“Well, you don't have to,” he looks to Yeosang, “but she does. This curse of hers is terrible, let’s be honest. I’d rather not have that bad luck touch our home soil.”

 

Scoffing, Yeosang rolls his eyes up and takes a breath, “and you say you aren’t superstitious.”

 

“I’m not,” Hongjoong grits out through his teeth, “but she has admitted to it and it has proven to be true. We’re here so I can make sure our home is safe, she stays on the ship until we set sail tomorrow.”

 

“Seriously, captain I think –”

 

“You can come see her later,” he cuts him off, waving a hand, “but first come with me to do a sweep of the island and make sure everything’s okay. Alice, just stay here and do not, under any circumstances, step foot of this ship.”

 

There’s a hollow feeling in her chest as he stares her down with a harsh glare before turning sharply, red coat flapping behind him as he quickly disembarks and waves Yeosang to follow him.

 

“I’ll be back,” Yeosang reassures her with a shoulder squeeze before jogging to catch up to Hongjoong.

 

A shiver runs up Alice’s spine as she watches them vanish into the dark, leaving her utterly alone on the still water. Heaving a sigh, she crosses her arms and quietly retreats to her room.

 

On the docks, wrapping around different trees and weaving through the eerily still woods, Yeosang glares at the back of Hongjoong’s head. He doesn’t speak though, no matter how bad he wants to berate Hongjoong, he knows there is some validity to his point. As much as he hates it, he’ll admit that her curse has proven too true.

 

“Promise me one thing,” Yeosang finally pipes up, still glaring at him as he breaks the silent cloud around them. Hongjoong only hums to show he’s listening, so he continues, “pray to your god and pay some respect to them. You have been crazy on edge, and that necklace only keeps your monster at bay for so long, and I think you’ve been uncharacteristically harsh.”

 

Hongjoong laughs, shaking his head. “I have an act to keep up Yeosang, and I do honestly not trust her yet.”

 

“Just go to your shrine and pray,” Yeosang bristles, shouldering past him to hurry towards the opening before them.

 

As Yeosang lands on the beach and hurries to catch up with the crew, Hongjoong pauses and takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. After a minute of standing with his eyes closed, he begins forward again and drops onto the soft sandy beach.

 

Before him stretches out a long strand of sandy beach with a larger pier at the very far end near the beginning of the cliff that covers this cove from the ocean. The waters here are just as still as the lake his ship sits on, but the shores are lit with lanterns and torches, bringing a warm homely glow to the coast. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he makes his way across the shore to the homestead. Rows and grids of houses and shops sit, almost finished as the workers he hired mingle around drinking and relaxing under the starry sky, swapping stories and tales with each other by torch lit. The rest of the crew blends instantly with the workers, taking drinks, and finding places to relax. Some of them find their own homes to check in on their things or switch out clothes for more comfortable ones, knowing they’ll be staying on the island for the night. Hongjoong keeps walking through, past the house, past the people, past the docks and onto another small trail into the dark woods. It’s not a long trip up the path to his own homestead, but it always feels longer to him.

 

Shortly into the trail, it opens up to a wide clearing and an old stone mansion that sits against the tree line. The clearing stretches out towards the cliffs, which rise before plateauing, effectively shielding the house form ocean view. Instead of heading to his house though, he turns to the cliffs, climbing up the slope to the very top were a collection of rocks sit.

 

Amid the rocks lining the cliff edge, sits a small altar and temple. The statue of a dragon lies in the middle, surrounded by tropical flowers that still haven’t lost their virtue and candles that have remained unlit for longer than they should have. Kneeling down, Hongjoong sticks his hand into a small opening next to the altar, pulling out a fire kit he keeps there. He takes his time setting up the tinderbox, placing everything carefully into a neat pile before picking up the fire steel and strike it over the box. It takes him a minute to get the flame to rise, but once it does, he’s quick to grab the fire sticks to transfer the fire to the candles surrounding the dragon.

 

Whispering a quiet prayer, he blows out the stick and closes the tinder box before sliding them back into the rocks.

 

Leaning back on his legs, Hongjoong takes a long deep inhale of the candle scent and closes his eyes, feeling as if a bucket of ice is dumped dropped on his head followed by a smooth splash of ocean water. Letting out a sigh, his whole-body sags and relaxes.

 

“It has been way too long,” he breathes out, slowly opening his eyes to look at the dragon again, “I come as often as I can Dragon King, but the ocean sometimes keeps me far away for longer than I intend. My crew has mentioned that my temper has been rising and I seek your blessing to help ease the demons and bring back my calm. I have a long, long, taxing and tiring journey ahead of me and I’m unsure how long until I can return to be blessed again,” sighing he looks out over the rocks to the black ocean churring beyond the island. Gently, he removes his necklace, the bronze glinting in the candlelight and the mermaid on the pendant seeming to fluctuate, almost as if in the ocean, as he lays it over the dragon. “Cleanse me, and I’ll continue to serve you and protect the oceans from harm. For my family and me.”

 

The moon rises above the ocean at that moment, and Hongjoong stays there, shifting, so he sits cross-legged in front of the altar for a majority of the evening.

 

No one questions his whereabouts, the entire crew is well aware what he is doing when a cool breeze pushes through the island, coming with the strong scent of cherry blossoms and an overwhelming feeling of peace as the moonlight strikes the shore. Yeosang shares a knowing smile of relief with the rest of the crew before deciding he should check on Alice.

 

The walk back to the ship is calming, the faint smell of cherry blossoms still lingers over the island even in the woods and docks at The Desire. The ship is quiet and still as Yeosang boards, heading straight for the under deck where he expects to find Alice in a strange fit of nightmares or awakens. The surprise that fills him when he gently opens her door is almost palpable.

 

Alice lays in her bed, curled up in a small ball, but breathing deeply and peacefully, looking more relaxed than even Yunho’s tea can make her. The smell of cherry blossoms still tickles Yeosang’s nose and makes it crinkle as he quietly walks into the dark room, moonlight streaming into the room to give him enough light to see her.

 

Crouching in front of her, he tilts his head as he quietly asks himself aloud, “why does the Dragon’s blessing extend to you?” Carefully he reaches up to brush her hair away from where it falls in her face, examining her peaceful form as another breeze sweeps throughout the ship, bringing an even stronger scent of cherry blossoms. “If Hongjoong doesn’t consider you a crew member, then why has the Dragon decided that you are family to him? This is,” he sighs heavily before standing up, “very, very interesting.”

 

Quietly still, he exits the room and lets Alice sleep her first peaceful night, but he stays on the ship just in case, not wanting her to be alone.


	13. Chapter Eleven Part One: Long Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song(s): “3 Things” by EDEN, “Galway Girl” by Celtic Thunder, “Hard to Believe” by David Cook

* * *

 

As the next day dawns, Alice is woken up by the smell of butter and garlic. It tickles her nose and pulls her up from her pitch black, relaxed slumber with a small groan. Rolling over, away from the wall, Alice sleepily blinks open her eyes, squinting at the sharp sunlight pouring in through the small window, filtered by the ocean still, but the sunlight still hurts none the less.

 

A cheery voice calls her name, followed by the sound of something scraping on a plate.

 

Blinking still, Alice pulls her hands out from under the blanket to rubs the sleep from her eyes before sitting up and turning to face the man in her room, Yunho she recognizes once her eyes focus.

 

He stands by her desk, with a space cleared off for a plate on which he is carefully slicing up some meat. Quizzically, Alice makes a noise to ask what's going on.

 

“Ah,” Yunho turns to smile at her before focusing on the food again, “I wanted to make sure you actually ate a good breakfast to go with the good sleep before we set off for Ireland.”

 

“You didn’t have to,” Alice says, pulling the blankets off her so she can sit up and swing her legs over the bed. Stretching her arms over her head, she grunts as her joints pop and protests, not used to unmoving for so long.

 

“I wanted to,” Yunho corrects, turning to point the knife at her. “You need to eat healthily to help heal, Yeosang says in a couple of days you shouldn’t be restricted from any duties as long as it heals.”

 

All Alice does is huff, blowing her hair from her face.

 

Yunho turns back to finish the food as he continues, “the sleep you got last night will surely help. You haven’t really slept since it happened so we were all surprised when Yeosang said you were already asleep when he went to check on you.”

 

That surprises her.

 

“I don’t,” she pauses and thinks, “yeah I don’t remember when I fell asleep, I know I got really tired and really relaxed suddenly, and then nothing. For the first time, it was just black and then this.”

 

“Good,” he taps the knife on the plate and sets it down, putting a couple slices of bread next to the meat before turning to Alice. “A dreamless sleep in a good night’s sleep. Now eat, we caught some fresh game from the island and cooked it this morning for the whole crew. It’ll be the last land animal we eat for a while, I imagine we’ll be doing a lot of fishing when we can to stuck up on food.”

 

It’s then that Alice registers the noise of the ship, the full crew bustling around above her and the sound of cargo being moved around below.

 

“Shit, did I miss helping?” She worries her bottom lip as she gently takes the plate for him, setting it on her lap.

 

Shaking his head, Yunho crosses his arms and leans on her desk. “We all agreed to let you sleep. Besides it’s not much, just a couple more barrels and crates of supplies to last us the journey. We also found some winter supplies and, as I said, fishing supplies.”

 

“I’m surprised,” Alice continues, tearing into the bread with a satisfied hum, “that your captain isn’t mad about me sleeping.”

 

Yunho nods slowly, thinking over his words before he slowly says, “he has rested well too, so he’ll be a bit more lenient towards you going forward. Shouldn’t be as much of a hard ass.”

 

Raising a brow, Alice also asks, “and Seonghwa and Mingi?”

 

“I can’t speak for them sadly,” a frown tugs at his lips as he sighs, “but like we all keep telling you, they will come around. We’ve got a long time together ahead.”

 

Alice nods her head. She wants to tell him that she has given them time, that she thought she had proven herself by now, but she’s just too frustrated to deal with those three and their irrational – partially rational – blanket hatred. Instead, she takes a large bite of meat and asks her next question, since Yunho seems to be waiting for her to finish eating.

 

“What exactly is this island here that Hongjoong was so worried about, if I may ask?” She inquires gently, hoping she isn’t overstepping her place as a simple passenger of the crews.

 

Yunho smiles, seems happy to speak as he shifts over to sitting in the desk chair, backward with his hands resting on the back of the chair as he faces Alice. “It’s a safe haven; a stronghold if you will,” he states. “Captain built this as a place away from British law, Spanish law, and even pirate law. No one can bother us, and we can finally live safely in peace. It’s just far enough away from any main island that most people won’t know we live here. The shore where the village is actually located is hidden very well by cliffs, and most ships pass by without a care,” he laughs gently, “took us forever to find an island that was this well-hidden. Eventually, when it’s all finished and built, and the trade is steady, we plan on bringing our families here. My brother, Gunho, I mentioned him before in passing I think, I plan on bringing him here. We all plan on bringing our families, but we have to make it safe. No bounties, nobody looking for our blood. It might happen sooner than we think, but it could also be a way out,” he sighs heavily, and Alice feels a pang in her chest at the frustration on his face. “Either way, once we know it’s safe as it can be, we’ll send for them and bring them here to live.”

 

“That sounds,” Alice breaths out as she finishes her food, holding the plate in her hands as she looks down at it, “it sounds quite lovely. I wish I had someone who cared enough about my safety to go through all that trouble. To lend me a place of sanctuary. Your captain truly cares for you all, he’s a kind man, and I understand his hesitancy to trust me. You all have people to lose.”

 

Yunho hums, dropping his chin into his palm. “Not all of us, some of us don’t have families outside the crew.”

 

Alice shakes her head, chuckling, “you misunderstand Yunho. The crew, all of you, especially the main eight of you, are a family. Not by blood, but by water. That family is stronger than any, and you have so much to lose if anything were to happen to any of you. That’s the kind of family I want.”

 

With a furrow of his brows, Yunho sits up a little straighter. “I guess you’re right in that aspect, but wouldn’t that mean your old crew is your family as well?”

 

A heavy, weighted sigh slips from Alice’s lips as she gives a weak smile. “If they were family, would they have pushed me away so quickly? Would they have let their captain decide my fate without standing up? A family would fight by my side even when part of that family is rightfully mad, they’d try and defend me. While I love them and care for them, I don’t believe they are my family. I don’t have one.”

 

“Yet,” Yunho finishes, voice strong and determined.

 

Blinking in surprise, Alice looks at him with a tilt to her head. “Yet?” She repeats back, confused.

 

“Yet,” he says again, adding, “you don’t have a family yet. I think they’re closer than you realize.”

 

Before Alice can refute or inquire more, three knocks on her door bring their attention. The door creaks open, and Yeosang pops his head in.

 

“Captain wants us all in his cabin,” he explains, eyes bouncing between the two of them as if trying to decipher what he interrupted as the air in the room has a lingering tension, but Yunho groans effectively breaking it.

 

“Guess you two better go,” Alice smiles, “don’t want to get in trouble.”

 

Then, Yeosang opens the door fully, leaning on the frame as he crosses his arms over his chest with a smirk dancing on his lips. “Oh? I guess I forgot to mention when I say ‘us’ I mean you, too.”

 

“Me?” Alice raises a brow at him as her and Yunho both standup, Yunho taking the plate from her. “He wants me as well?”

 

“Yep,” closing his heads as he gives one big nod, “he requested all eight of us to join him to discuss the trip.”

 

Yunho reaches up and places a hand on Alice’s head, ruffling her hair. “Look at you moving up in captain’s trust level.”

 

Swatting his hand off her head and fixing her hair, she can’t fight the smile on her face because Yunho is right, this is a step. Yunho and Yeosang head up first, leaving Alice to prepare for the day. Once she’s made herself presentable and cleaned up in a fresh pair of clothes, she makes her way to the main deck. The seagulls caw above the ship, circling the small ocean lake as the waves lap at the ship, it's sunny with a gentle but steady breeze that immediately sets her hair blowing when she reaches the stairs and breaches the surface. She takes a second to let her eyes adjust as she stands at the stairs, then she turns around to the railing where Wooyoung waits for her with a smile.

 

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he greats with an arm thrown over her shoulders.

 

“Hey you,” she smiles up at him, “no trouble with the cargo, right?”

 

“Nope,” he turns her, guiding her across the deck to the captain’s quarters, “we’ll go over inventory later, and I’ll inform you of everything added, but for now all we need to do is go to the captain’s cabin and not keep him waiting.”

 

The walk across the deck is quick and simple. Wooyoung drops his arm from her shoulders, stepping in front of her to grab the handle of Hongjoong’s door and push it down. Alice hesitates, feeling a cold, nervous rush down her spine as Wooyoung steps in before her to announce their presence. It takes her half a second of stalling before walking in to be met by the harsh glare form Seonghwa and a blank stare from Hongjoong and Mingi, the rest of the crew looks indifferent.

 

“Close the door, Wooyoung,” Mingi waves a hand at him from where he stands next to Hongjoong.

 

Wooyoung steps behind Alice to close the door before walking her forward to be in line with the crew.

 

For a captain’s cabin, it’s spacious compared to other rooms on the ship. Clothes and maps and books are strewn all around the room, the bed a mess of blankets and notebooks. The large wooden desk in the middle of the room has maps rolled out on it, held open by mugs and knickknacks on the corners. The chair is ornate as well, with a hat hanging off one top peg and the signature red coat on the other. Behind the desk, framing the windows are bookshelves full of treasures and trinkets collected form voyages before, as well as more and more books. Alice’s gaze sweeps across all of this quickly, soaking in what she knows is the most intimate part of the captain. The cabin always reflects the captain. As her eyes move back to the maps on the desk, she avoids Mingi and Seonghwa’s watchful gazes from where they stand on either side of Hongjoong and then her eyes also shift up to Hongjoong himself, who’s leaning back in his chair, eyes trained on her but face blank and void of emotion, revealing nothing. It makes her more nervous, so she quickly flicks her eyes back to the maps on his desk.

 

“Alright,” he calls everyone’s attention, pushing himself to stand up and placing his hands on the desk as he looks over his crew, “we are here to discuss our route and plans before we embark on the journey.”

 

“Excuse me, captain,” Seonghwa clears his throat, eyes jumping from Hongjoong to her, “but why is he here?”

 

Hongjoong stares at Seonghwa over his shoulder for a tense minute. “I know your views on her Seonghwa, but she if is going to be helping San and Wooyoung she needs to know as much as they do. Plus,” he turns his head back to the maps, “she is our special guest, might as well inform her where she’s going.”

 

Seonghwa huffs and there’s a grumbles response form him and Mingi both, mostly Seonghwa though. Yeosang gives him a sharp look and Yunho can be heard sighing from his spot next to him, shaking his head.

 

“Let’s get started,” Hongjoong declares, standing up straight as he points it their island on the map, “starting off we’re going to be skirting the colonies,” he traces a finger along the British colonies. “Not close, of course, but also not out in the empty ocean, less chance of being surprised where we know what’s on our flank. Flags,” he points to the chest by his desk next to Mingi and San, “we have Spanish flags as per usual, so when we reach near the top of the colonies, we’ll fly them just in case. San, you already know the drill for this.”

 

San nods his head with a smile.

 

“Since San and I speak the best Spanish,” Hongjoong continues, “he’ll pretend to be the captain, and I’ll be the quartermaster as we always do. Now, instead of diving straight into the British trade route, we’ll go up towards the pole,” he brings his finger back to the map and traces a path from the north section of the British colonies up towards the glacial island of Greenland. “By this time of year, it’ll be cold and going that far north it’ll be naturally colder, so we’ve prepared as best we can for it. It’s going to suck,” he admits with a dry laugh, “it’s going to be terrible, but we’ll reach Ireland as quickly as we can. From there we turn and go across to Ireland and sail down the coast before reaching Kinsale and docking there,” he finishes tracing the path across the Atlantic and then taps the southern shore of Ireland a couple times. “This journey will be long so Jongho, I need you to be on entertainment duty constantly, we need the crew in good spirits. San, tell as many heroic stories of our journeys as you can, I know we have quite a few, hell even ghost and scary stories will do,” that makes all of them give light-hearted small laughs and smiles, and Hongjoong’ shoulder relax at the sound. “We just need to keep morale high. I estimated this to take us one to two months, if it drags on to three due to low winds or trouble with run-ins that’s to be expected,” then he sighs. Holding for a second, he taps his finger again on the map and looks over each crew member, skipping Alice, as he quietly speaks, “this is going to be one of our longest trips, and it’s not for fun reasons. It’s gonna tire us out, and we may be sick of the sea by the time we get home. Be prepared for a struggle, but I promise it’s a struggle we will survive. Aye?”

 

“Aye.” The group choruses with reasoning smiles.

 

“Let’s set sail then mates.”

 

The crew disperses quickly after that. Wooyoung and Alice start setting up the sails to head out, Wooyoung up on the yards while Alice works with the crew on deck to untie and retie all the proper knots. Soon enough, the Desire is slipping through the small opening and venturing out into the open ocean.

 

The rest of the first day is uneventful, as more first days are. Wooyoung and Alice spend the rest of the day double checking stocks with Jongho and Mingi, making sure everything is cataloged and listed correctly in the books. Alice helps Yunho bring food up from the hull to cook an excellent first meal for the crew. They don’t’ plan any big festivities as the night before on the island was festive and relaxing enough for the crew. It’s a quiet first day send off.

 

The next day, Alice helps San set up the Spanish sails. They move the chest full of sails out of Hongjoong’s room and onto the main deck. They tie it down the main sail, so it’s right in the middle of everything when the time comes to change them. This is then followed by her heading down to the hull to check inventory one more time, but she finds Jongho sitting next to an open barrel. He’s got an apple in one hand that he’s munching on and a book in the other, with his feet propped up on a crate.

 

Crossing her arms over her chest, she walks up to him. “Um, should you be snacking on the crew food there?”

 

Jumping in Surprise, Jongho looks up at Alice with wide eyes for a second before he grins. “Hey Alex, and no, I shouldn’t be, that’s why I’m not eating the crew’s food.”

 

“Um,” Alice laughs, dropping her arms as she walks to him. “Isn’t that the crew’s food?”

 

“Nope,” Jongho grins, closing the book and setting it by his feet. “It’s not technically listed in the inventory, we always keep a barrel of apples set aside strictly for me.”

 

“Because you eat more like a horse?” Alice raises a brow with a mischievous smirk.

 

“Rude,” Jongho points at her with his free hand before standing up, “but yes, I do eat more than the crew.”

 

“Okay but,” she waves a hand, “that barrel has to last the entire trip, or at least the Irish markets. Hell, I realize all this food has to make t and not go bad.”

 

Jongho hums, rubbing his chin as he thinks. He takes a second and then nods his head to himself. “I can share the trade secrets, no harm in that. Most sailors don’t get their necessary food due to food spoiling, but beautiful Yunho and Yeosang found these great methods, come look,” he waves her to come closer as he steps to the open barrel and points inside.

 

Captiously, Alice steps forward and looks inside. It’s full of apples to the brim, but the apples are floating in water, and there’s some sort of pinkish lining to the barrel.

 

“Copper and water,” Jongho explains with a proud grin. “Line the barrels with copper, then fill your fruit and vegetables, and finally filled with water. This will keep everything fresh, and it will last a long time.”

 

“Wow,” Alice dips her fingers into the cold water, pushing around the apples. “Freshwater or sea water?”

 

“Freshwater,” Jongho informs. “As for meat, which we caught a bit of before we left the island, you pack it in salt to keep it fresh.”

 

“That’s got to be a lot of salt though, like,” Alice sucks in a breath through her teeth, “that plus the copper? You guys have to have some good money stashed.”

 

“Oh, we do,” Jongho plucks an apple out and offers it to her, “but don’t tell anyone,” he winks, making her laugh.

 

“Cross my heart,” she snatches the apple and takes a bite.

 

After that, Jongho slips the lid back on and joins her again on the main decks. They spend the rest of the day relaxing in the galley, talking about other sailor tricks for lasting over long journeys and swapping ideas they haven’t tried yet, but might bring up to the other two at some point.

 

It’s the next day that Alice is finally allowed to climb the masts. Wooyoung is still sleeping, so San opts to climb with her.

 

“Injured, looking out for the injured,” San jokes as he climbs up to the crow’s nest with Alice. “Kinda ironic in a way.”

 

Alice hums, smiling as the wind brushes her face. “A little ironic, mostly just stupid if we’re honest.”

 

San laugh, light and airy as he smiles at her. “Let’s not tell Yeosang then, shall we?”

 

“I thought that was a given?” Alice laughs with him as she sits down, draping her feet out of the crow’s nest and resting her arms on the railing. She lets out a long huff of air as she closes her eyes. “God, I missed the sea.”

 

San gives a hum of agreement as he slowly lowers himself to sit next to her, but crossed legged with his hands hanging off the railing. “It’s like home isn’t it?”

 

“Yeah,” Alice turns to look at him, “honestly, I don’t think I’d love to be anywhere else. When my former crew grounded me, it was like they cut off my hands, I didn’t know how I’d function. Thankfully our home was an island, so the sea was still around.”

 

“Lucky, huh,” San smiles, “luck, and you don’t seem to be friends.”

 

Glaring at him, Alice huffs, blowing her hair as she turns away. “Shut up, I’m working on that obviously.”

 

“I still can’t believe you almost gave up,” San breaths out, watching her closely.

 

The wind picks up gently, whipping Alice’s hair around her face and making San’s bangs lift off his forehead, the red strikingly bright in the sunshine. As he observes her profile, he notes that her eyes are probably the deepest sea blue he’s ever seen and that the sunlight seems to bring the freckles on her face to life. Up here she looks softer than he’s seen her, he’s grown used to her hard stare and blank face most days, but he already knows he prefers this look.

 

Humming, San lifts a hand and pats her shoulder. “I’m glad we both came out of that event alive and still moving forward.”

 

Alice side-eyes him, shrinking under his gaze. “Why are you so serious all of a sudden? Can we like, just, not talk about that day.”

 

San let’s out a scoff, rolling his eyes back. “How can I not talk about the day you saved my life? The day I decided you were more than just a little bad luck, I think I saw so much potential in you. Plus,” San smiles, patting her shoulder again, “our common love of the sea and sailing makes us automatic best friend level.”

 

Raising a brow, Alice sits up a little. “Best friend?” She repeats quietly, looking at him in surprise.

 

“I know,” San sighs, dropping his arm and looking down towards the deck, “that certain members of our crew aren’t very hospitable. I know it doesn’t seem like you mix well, but I need you to understand that you do. We all really like you, you’re a,” he tilts his head back and forth for a second, “a nice addition to our little family.”

 

“Don’t be hasty San,” Alice responds immediately, shaking her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it, but I just don’t want to get too attached.”

 

San nods in understanding. “You don’t want to get too close on the off chance that captain decides to just move on after this journey.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Well,” San seems to perk up, turning to face her with his bright smile, “all the more reason to enjoy these next few months together. We can do so much at sea, swap stories, talk about life, exchange sailing ideas,” as he continues to list things they can do his eyes light up, the dark brown looking even lighter as he grins wide and cheerful.

 

There’s a twisting in Alice’s gut, a warning from her subconscious that this is dangerous. Getting attached to anyone is dangerous, but she smiles as the twisting is won over by the warmth of joy that fills her chest.

 

“We’ll do it all,” she cuts San off, “promise.”

 

San stops talking, looking at her for a second before grinning, “promise.”

 

They stay up there together for a while longer, enjoying the soft breeze and the sounds of the waves around them. All up until Yeosang wakes up and requests Alice to go over some medical supplies and inventory.

 

As with most journeys, not every day is eventful. Several days pass without much incident. The crew moves about as they do, going about switching duties and relaxing. It’s by this time that they can all feel the boredom begin to sink into the ship, as it always does. Jongho takes it upon himself to fix that by starting up nightly festivities. It takes a couple days of planning with Yunho and Wooyoung, rationing out the food to have enough for a big festive night above deck. Alice is privy to all these conversations as she is still under Wooyoung’s eye and command, but she doesn’t impose and stays quiet. It isn’t until the day of the festivities that Jongho corners her in the storage hull.

 

“You’re joining,” he declares, leaving little room for question.

 

Staring up at him, Alice tilts her head in confusion. “I’m joining what now?”

 

“The festivities,” Jongho rolls his eyes, “tonight, we’ve had a few gatherings, and the one before all the bad shit went down, and you haven’t joined any.”

 

Alice opens her mouth in understands, tilting her head back in a slow nod. “Ah, but why would I?”

 

“You’re a crew member?” it’s said in a questioning voice as if Jongho’s confused by this notion of her not being able to join them.

 

Smiling softly, Alice looks down. “I’m never sure if I should join, I mean,” she sighs lifting her head, “I know it’s supposed to be a happy time, but I’m still nervous with the captain, the quartermaster, and the first mate I still feel like an odd one out.”

 

Jongho understands, and he wishes he didn’t, but he knows that a crew can make you feel safe, but if the main heads and decision makers of the crew outcast you, nothing is safe. He holds in a sigh of frustration, even a few curse words, and looks down seriously at Alice.

 

“Okay, how about this, you don’t have to join in on singing or story telling, but you have to be on deck with us,” he decides, looking to her nervous eyes. “Just sit in a corner and watch, laugh, drink a little.”

 

“I’m not big on drinking,” she admits with a small smile.

 

“Like looking at a mini Seonghwa,” Jongho jokes and even though Alice doesn’t understand it makes her smile. “Then don’t force yourself to drink, just enjoy the show.”

 

Alice still hesitates. Jongho then decides to pull out one last tactic he knows makes everyone do whatever he asks them to. When Alice looks up, she finds Jongho actually pouting, like a kicked puppy, at her, full bottom lip jutting out as he looks at her. Baffled, she laughs, covering her mouth.

 

“Oh my god,” she laughs again, “are you pouting?”

 

“Yeah,” he says in a softer voice than she’s ever heard from him, “I just want you to relax and have fun with us.”

 

“I cannot believe this is working,” Alice mutter behind her hand.

 

Jongho gets a sly, innocently creepy grin on his face. “So, you’ll join us then?”

 

“Yes!” Alice reaches forward to lightly bat his arm, “yes, you little manipulative prick.”

 

At that, Jongho perks up, standing straighter as he grins, full teeth. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

 

“So, mean,” Alice laughs lightly, smiling still, “come on, let’s take Yunho up the food.”

 

Together they gather all the food needed for a large feast and deliver it to Yunho to start cooking up. As the sun begins to set the food is laid out, and crew all gathers on deck. Alice helps Yunho get everything set up. Soon enough, the festivities are in full swing. Jongho starts them up with a classic shanty, pulling the whole crew into a chorus singing both on and off key. Maneuvering through the crew, Alice sneaks up to the forecastle deck and hoists herself up, sitting on the edge as she watches the crew.

 

From the shadows, she happily watches the rest of the crew sing together and dance around the ship. At some point, a shadow drops from the mast above her, startling her and making her yelp in surprise as a hand touches her shoulder. The resounding laughter signals to her that it’s just San as he shifts to sit next to her.

 

“Calm down, just me,” he flashes her a smile and drapes his arm around her shoulders. “So, Alex, not joining in tonight.”

 

She shakes her head, hair brushing San’s arm. “Nope, maybe another night. I’m perfectly fine just sitting here and watching all of you.”

 

Humming, San nods his head. “We are an entertaining bunch. I’m sure Jongho’s skits will be your favorite part.”

 

“I don’t know,” Alice looks over to the man in question, currently dragging Seonghwa into the middle to sing with him, “his voice is quite spectacular. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone sing that well.”

 

A proud smile grows on his face as he looks to his younger cremate. “Doesn’t he? I bet, in another lifetime he’s a singer. Professional style and all.”

 

“He’s got the charisma for it,” Alice notes, “but not nearly as much as Yeosang.”

 

San laughs, “that’s true, but he only has that strong charisma when he hasn’t been drinking. Then we have to sweep him off the floor.”

 

Alice scrunches her nose up in confusion, having now heard that phrase twice. “Okay, so why is it always about sweeping him off the floor?”

 

Stealing a glance at the man in question, currently happily clapping along with the crew as Jongho dances, San grins. “That is his story to tell,” then his smile morphs into a sadder one, “it’s not completely happy, he – like the rest of us – doesn’t have the best backstory.”

 

Looking up at San Alice tilts her head to get a better look at his solemn face. “When do I get your backstory?”

 

“Soon,” San states firmly, “before we get to Ireland, I swear. Now,” he motions her to look at the group again, “what this entertainment.”

 

As she turns back to where Jongho had been dancing, she finds him and Wooyoung currently dragging their captain to the middle of their makeshift circle, the crew cheering him on.

 

It’s a routine, Alice notes, as the crew cheers for ‘fish in the sea’ and Hongjoong just grins, from ear to ear with the brightest smile Alice thinks she’s ever seen. For a good second, she can only stare, mesmerized by how young Hongjoong looks and how relaxed he is as he bounces in place for a second before raising his voice. While he’s not as elegant as Jongho, his voice is a higher ton and slightly raspy, but it’s got a lovely ring and appeal to it that causes something to stir in Alice’s chest.

 

“Come all ye young sailormen listen to me,” he sings out, “I’ll sing you a song of the fish in the sea.”

 

By this point the whole crew rises their bottles and chorus out, even San joining in form his place next to Alice, “and it’s windy weather, boys, stormy weather boys, when the wind blows, we’re all together boys; blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds blow, Jolly sou’wester, boys, steady she goes.”

 

Mingi jumps up from the crowd, swinging his arm around Hongjoong as he sings the next verse in his deep voice. “Up jumps the ell with his slippery tail, climbs up aloft and reefs the topsails.”

 

The crew joins in again to sing the chorus, swaying side to side as they sing together. San smiles brightly, shaking Alice’s shoulder and giving her a look that is opening for her to join in with them, but she bites her lip and keeps quiet.

 

Seonghwa is pulled up by Hongjoong and Mingi, looking almost reluctant if not for the smile on his lips as he easily jumps into the next verse, “them up jumps the shark with his nine rows of teeth, saying you eat the dough boys and I’ll eat the beef!”

 

As the crew choruses together again, Alice lets herself mouth along to the words.

 

It’s Hongjoong who takes the last verse, seeming more alive and full of energy as he spins around, “up jumps the whale, the largest of all. If you want any wind, well, I’ll blow ye a squal!”

 

Alice once again finds herself entrapped by Hongjoong’s energy as he leads the crew through one more chorus together, climbing up the rope of the main mast as the whole ship cheers. Even as Seonghwa starts up another shanty to keep the energy moving, she can’t take her eyes off Hongjoong. Like a moth to a flame, she finds him the most interesting thing on the ship at that moment. It isn’t until San pats her back that she rips her gaze away, taking in a sharp breath as she realizes she was sating intently at him. Thankfully san doesn’t notice as he gets up and heads down to the main deck to join in the new shanty, leaving her alone and confused as she lets her gaze move back to Hongjoong for only a second more before fiercely looking away.

 

As the night winds down and the moon begins to sink down the sky, the crew slowly starts to trickle down to their cots. Alice disappears with the first stream of crew members and heads down to her bed, eager to get away from the strange incident and put distance between her and the captain.

 

The next night of big festivities is a couple night later, less extravagant than the first night but the crew is still excited. They start off with Jongho and Wooyoung singing shanties together and doing playful skits. After a couple of these, Jongho motions for the crew to quiet down.

 

“I want to sing couple more shanties before we move on to our scary stories, told by the lovely San,” the crew whoops and cheers obviously excited for the prospect of San’s stories. “For the next shanty, I think our special guest needs to try it out.”

 

To Alice’s utter shock, the crew gets really excited about this proposition. Wooyoung starts whistling from next to Jongho and Yunho, who had been Alice’ safety blanket she placed herself next to, gently grabs her arms and pulls her towards them.

 

“Traitor,” she mutters under breath at him, but it only makes him smile. When she looks around the crew, she finds Yeosang over by his room, giving her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up as San calls out her name from somewhere in the crowd.

 

Wooyoung throws his arm around Alice and pulls her from Yunho, who retreats to the safety of the crowd.

 

“You know a lot of shanties I’m sure Alex,” Wooyoung smiles at her, “so what shall you sing for us?”

 

“You are really gonna make me sing?” She whines, glaring playfully up at him.

 

“Consider it a rite of passage,” Jongho offers, the crew agreeing, “plus, I’m curious if you know any shanties we may not know.”

 

Alice hums, letting herself fall in with them as she thinks. It takes her a second to flip through a catalog of shanties she’s heard in her time at sea. Then one comes to her with a far distant memory of childhood. She takes a second to remember how it went and then nods her head.

 

“Okay, I got it,” turning to the crew she calls out, “have any of you heard the folk song ‘Star of the County Down? I know it’s less of a shanty and more a tavern song, but it’s the main one I know.” To her surprise, a couple of crew members cheer at that.

 

“An old Irish song!” One calls out, “hold on, I got the perfect thing for this!” They wait a second as a couple of crew members move around, and one comes up from the deck above with a small string instrument. “No Irish song is complete without accompaniment,” he explains as he sets up next to Alice.

 

“Now this a production!” San cheers, the crew following suit.

 

“Alright, alright,” Alice waves smiling, “I can’t promise I’m any good, but we’ll see.”

 

As they get ready for her to sing, she doesn’t see off in the shadows as the captain slips out of his cabin, sitting on a barrel just outside his door to watch. When he heard Jongho call her up, his curiosity was peaked, and he couldn’t keep himself from joining.

 

Once the small makeshift band is ready, they give Alice the thumbs up and starts up the song.

 

Nervously at first, Alice begins to sing, masking her feminine voice with her rougher male voice, “near Banbridge town, in the County Down one morning last July. Down a boreen green came a sweet cailín and she smiled as she passed me by. Oh, she looked so sweet from her two bare feet to the sheen of her nut-brown hair. Such a whimsome elf, that I pinched myself for to see I was standing there,” Alice smiles, enjoying the hype the crew gives and the few members who know the next part join in with her. “From the Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay and from Galway to Dublin town, no maid I’ve seen like the sweet cailín that I met in the County Down.”

 

Alice continues to sing the rest of the song, getting the whole crew to join her in each chorus, effectively lifting her spirits as she moves around with Wooyoung and Jongho. After her song, they swing her into another bout of shanties that she joins in as well. Entrapped in the euphoria of enjoyment, she doesn’t see the soft smile on Hongjoong’s face as he watches her, sketch pad in hand.

 

“Drawing I see,” Yeosang comments, effectively starting him.

 

Grabbing his coat over his chest, Hongjoong laughs. “You scared the shit out of me Yeosang, like announce your presence one and a while.”

 

“Never,” Yeosang jests, bumping Hongjoong’s shoulder with a smile. “It’s been a while since you pulled out the sketch pad.”

 

Hongjoong hums in agreement looking down at the notebook as he swipes his pencil down the mast he’s drawn. “I know it’s been too long. Though I’d take the festivities and happy images as inspiration. See,” he holds up the pages towards the lantern light so Yeosang can lean in and see better the sketch of the crew gathered around Jongho singing.

 

Yeosang makes a noise of praise, “it looks great captain, you still go it.”

 

Proud, feeling full from the praise, Hongjoong smiles softly. “Thanks, Yeosang.”

 

The night goes on almost until the moon has made its full cycle. San’s ghost stories and tales of sea monsters leave most the crew scared to sleep, so they stay up much longer than usual. Wooyoung is by far the most terrified and declares that he’s sleeping with San in his cot because he scared him that bad. Somewhere admits their bickering and Jongho starting up a softer round of solemn shanties, Alice lets’ herself slink off to sleep under deck.

 

When noon rolls around the following day, Alice ventures up to Yeosang’s room to finally ask him about his backstory as San had instructed.

 

The deck is quiet when she comes up, most of the crew still asleep, and the seas calm for once. Seonghwa is up at the helm, looking board beyond compare as he stares down at the compass in his hands. She doesn’t acknowledge him with more than a glance before walking to Yeosang’s room. With a single knock, she opens the door, knowing Yeosang is more than likely awake despite the night festivities. Her assumption is proven correct when she finds him sitting at his desk reading from a book as he makes only a questioning hum, not looking up.

 

“Yeosang,” Alice calls, smiling as she closes the door.

 

Perking his head up, Yeosang turns to her and waves. “Hey you, what are you doing up here?”

 

“Wanted to see you,” she reaches out and takes a stool, sitting next to him, “and I wanted to ask why is the running catchphrase is that ‘you were swept up off the bar floor?’ I’m curious about this story?”

 

“Well,” Yeosang places a ribbon in the book he was reading closes it before turning to her, “I guess it’s only fair that I share my backstory. I believe we know yours fairly well.”

 

“Wooyoung told you,” Alice nods her head, “I’m a little surprised, but surprisingly not mad.”

 

“Don’t’ be,” he waves off that notion, “he means well and just wanted up to understand. If it makes you feel better, he only told San, Yunho, Jongho, and I. I think Mingi overheard and Seonghwa might have heard it in passing.”

 

Alice nods her head slowly, squinting her eyes as she counts off the main crew in her head. “I’m nervous that they know, Mingi and Seonghwa I mean, but if they heard it in passing, then that explains why they’re still cold and standoffish with me.”

 

“They’ll come around,” Yeosang murmurs, watching her closely.

 

“So, you all say,” she shakes her head, lightly chuckling to herself. “That means the only one who doesn’t know is, Hongjoong, the captain, right?”

 

“Correct, and since now you know that I know your story, it’s only fair I share mine. Come,” he stands from the chair, motioning over to his bed. “Sit,” he points to the bed as he crawls onto it himself.

 

They situation themselves side by side, shoulder brushing together on the bed. Yeosang takes a deep breath and lets out a heavy sigh. It’s silent for a minute more before he begins his story.

 

“You see it was a very, very dark time for me when the incident happened, me being swept off the floor as they deem it,” he starts. “I lost my mom when I was young to cancer. My dad and I did our best, him as a doctor and me as his apprentice but she didn’t survive. So, my dad raised me alone. I went to work with him, I helped him, I patched up people with him, everything I know I got from him.”

 

“A doctor raised by a doctor,” Alice recalls from one of their first conversations. Thinking back on it, it feels ages ago, almost as if years have passed since that fateful day.

 

Yeosang smiles, snapping his fingers as he nods. “Exactly. Then one day my dad pretty much sold me to a slave ship to be a doctor to make sure their cargo arrived safely,” he says the word cargo with such a venomous disdain that Alice is surprised for a second. “I detest slavery,” is his clarifying statement, “and my father knew it, he knew all too well how sick it made me, but he forced me into it. The day I was forced to leave, I cursed his name and screamed at him for hours, declaring how worthless he was and how he deserved to rot in hell for selling his only child for money. Then, of course, the slaver was intercepted by pirates looking to free the slaves, not uncommon. That was the first time I met ATEEZ,” he gets a wistful smile on his face as he looks down and crosses his arms over his chest. “I was a doctor, so naturally I was forced to heal their crew with their doctor, but he died in the firefight, so it was just me. For the leg of their journey, I was their doctor, and then I was an island doctor, and then finally they took me home. I never wanted to be associated with pirates, so I ran as soon as we reached my homeland. Only,” his smile drops, “when I returned home, I found my father had been murdered in a failed slave coo, at least a few weeks before I was even on my way back. He died, my only family gone in an instant and with such harsh words,” the words are quiet, barely heard.

 

Starring at Yeosang now, looking small and a little broken makes Alice’s heartbreak and crack. He hesitates to go on, blinking back tears as Alice gently reaches over to rub his arm.

 

Looking down at her hand he takes a steady breath and continues, “I was distraught, to say the least, and since he was gone I had no one else to live for. So, naturally, I found the nearest bar and drank myself stupid for the next week. I did almost drink myself to death before ATEEZ resurfaced, and Mingi recognized me, even in my drunken, ashen, half-alive state he recognized me. I was in the middle of a drunken fight with a couple of guys who just liked to play with weak people, as I was at the time, and they left me on the bar floor just lying there. That’s when Mingi, in his giant greatness,” he smiles again finally, seeming to brighten again, “came in and swept me off the floor, threw me over his shoulder and carried me out, much to the surprise of Hongjoong and Seonghwa who were there with him. They sobered me up and literally brought me back from the dead. That’s why they’re my family,” he says with a firm conviction as he raises his gaze to lock with Alice, “they were there when I needed them.”

 

They stay like that for a minute, just staring at each other as Alice’s’ brain process the information.

 

“So then why are you so caring about me?” She quietly asks after a minute.

 

“Well, I’ve been here when you needed me? So, has Wooyoung, and Yunho, even San, and Jongho. Wouldn’t that make us nearly family now?” He says it like it’s so simple like it’s not a complicated mess of emotions and tension, and it makes Alice’s heartbeat skip for a second.

 

“I guess so,” she sighs, rubbing her forehead, “but if your captain or your leader of your family doesn’t see me as a part of it, then am I really?”

 

“I think you and him both underestimate his level of caring,” Yeosang then moves his gaze to the door, seeming to be working through something Alice can’t decipher. “Enough of the heavy stuff though, let’s go over some new medical stuff I found.”

 

Even though Alice wants to push the topic of Hongjoong, she lets it go and lets Yeosang switch her off track to something not intense or serious. In the end, she spends the rest of the day testing out different recipes with Yeosang and relaxing in his cabin for the day until the sun sets, and more shanties are sung, quieter this time as the crew has opted to tone it down and relax instead of party. Calling it an early night, Alice retreats before the moon really scales the sky to catch some much-needed sleep.

 


	14. Chapter Eleven Part Two: Long Journey

* * *

 

The next few weeks are relatively smooth sailing. Alice spends her time between Yeosang’s room, the crow’s nest with San and Wooyoung, in the galley cooking with Yunho, or occasionally sneaking into the hull with Jongho to enjoy some time away from the crew. A couple of times, her and Jongho end up setting up nets and San and her man them to get fresh food for the crew. Yunho teaches her how to descale and debone fish, Jongho teaches her how to run the nets, San teaches her more sailing tricks, and Yeosang continues to train her in medical duties. Neither Mingi nor Seonghwa giver her much hassle over the next few weeks and even Hongjoong doesn’t bat an eye when he passes her on deck or sees her in Yeosang’s room. It’s pleasant finally, and everything seems to have settled down. While the main three are still indifferent, Alice deems it better than downright cruel or hateful.

 

It’s after a few weeks of all this – with some more noisy nights sprinkled in – that Alice gets a tingling feeling on the back of her neck. A feeling she’s all too familiar with.

 

“There’s going to be a storm,” she declares one day while in the crow’s nest with Yunho this time. They are currently waiting for Wooyoung and Jongho to collect the fish from the netting.

 

Yunho down at Alice with a confused expression. “I’m sorry, but what now?”

 

“A storm,” Alice’s eyes glaze over as she looks past them to the ocean, “a rather big one. It’s rolling towards us and will probably hit in a couple day’s time.”

 

“Okay,” he draws the word out and raises a brow at her, “and you just know this?”

 

Sighing, Alice nods her head, resting her arms on the railing of the crow’s nest. “It’s this weird thing I can predict. Changes in the tide, wind shifts, storms, stuff like that relating to the ocean I can seem to sense.”

 

“Kind of like how you were able to navigate us of the island,” Yunho thinks back, remember the day of the shipwreck. “Yeosang was struggling to find out where we were, but you seemed to just know.”

 

Turning to look at him, Alice squints as the sun beats down on them. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

 

Yunho shrugs. “Seems more like luck, which I know you don’t really have,” he jests with a smile, “but I guess we’ll just have to see if there really is a storm coming.”

 

Even though Yunho genuinely doesn’t believe her, her predictions are proven true the next day as the skies darken and the wind begins to speed up. Neither of the two mentions their conversation in the crow’s nest, but Yunho shares a look with her from across the ship when San announce the storm.

 

It sneaks up on them still though. It comes fiercely and suddenly, sending most of the crew underdeck as rain pelts violently down on them.

 

“Alright!” Seonghwa shouts over the howling winds and defending rain, still pouring in from the hatch opening to the stairs. “Mingi has the wheel, and he’ll sail us through this storm until the wind dies down we need to be down here. I don’t need any of you going overboard. In a storm like this there would be no saving you, Davy Jones would have you.”

 

“The sails!” Wooyoung cries out from his spot, drenched already form the rain, looking up through the stairs. “There’s a tear, and some of them are tangled!”

 

“Leave it!” Seonghwa waves him off, moving to pull him down. “We’ll fix it once it passes.”

 

Alice steps up then, pushing her wet hair back. “I’m sorry to tell you, but by that time it’ll be too late, and we will be way off course. We need to get up there and fix it!”

 

“You want me to risk my crew!?” Seonghwa shouts, furry taking over his face as he rounds on her. “That’s a death sentence job, we can course correct later!”

 

“Fine!” Alice shoves past, grabbing some cloth and rope. “Then if you won’t risk your crew I’ll do it, this storm will throw us too far off course to be safe, it has to be done,” without waiting for him to respond she takes off up the stairs and into the storm.

 

The crew is stunned into silence as they look to Seonghwa, to see what his next move is. He stands there for a second, huffing to himself as he looks up to the storm. Lighting strikes, lighting up the hull for a second before the roaring thunder overtakes and covers the groan Seonghwa releases as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

 

Stepping forward, Wooyoung claps his shoulder. “Close the hatch behind me, I’ll help her, and then we’ll stay in Yeosang’s room.”

 

“You’re crazy,” he breathes out but nods along.

 

Grinning, Wooyoung pats his shoulder again and then rushes up.

 

As Wooyoung climbs the stairs, San appears from the depths of the ship, shouting after him.

 

“Seonghwa,” he spins to face the quartermaster, “the fuck is he doing!?”

 

“Alex ran out to fix the sails,” Seonghwa explains.

 

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Turning back to the stairs, San rushes up after them.

 

Once he’s gone, Seonghwa pulls the hatch down and slams it closed. “No one else,” he breathes out, carefully pushing his hair back, “no one else goes out. They have Mingi they should be fine.”

 

“They better be fine,” Yunho grumbles under his breath, with a hum from Jongho as they both glare down Seonghwa.

 

Above deck, Mingi shouts at San once he appears, voice hoarse as he screams and points to the main mast. Blinking the rain from his eyes, he hurries over and looks up to see the pair already climbing the main yard. Another flash of lighting and clash of thunder has San jumping in surprise, looking wildly around as he tries to keep his footing on the slippery deck. Hurrying up to Mingi, he grips the railgun tightly, knuckle white.

 

“What the hell is going on!?” Mingi hollers, hands gripped tight on the wheel as he turns to San.

 

“I don’t know exactly,” he admits, looking up to the two trouble makers, “Alex ran out to fix the sales and Wooyoung followed.”

 

“Couldn’t we have just waited?” Mingi’s brows furrow in confusion. “We wouldn’t have gotten too far off course, right?”

 

Shaking his hair from his eyes, San isn’t honestly sure about that answer.

 

Up in the yards, Alice has her legs wrapped tightly around the arm as her Wooyoung holds the cloths for her to tie it on.

 

“You’re crazy!” Are the first words he finally says to her as she fiercely works on the cloth. “We could get killed up here.”

 

“No one asked you to follow,” she snaps back, ripping the excess cloth and moving to sit up, “the Mizzen mast needs to be tied down, come on.”

 

Carefully, they stand up and make their way across the yard and down the mast. Wooyoung immediately moves to the ties, tightening them. Walking past him Alice runs up the stairs, striding right past San who is shouting at her and to the mizzen mast.

 

“Alex!” San rushes over, slipping but catching himself and grabbing her shirt as she gets to the net. “Leave it!”

 

“I’ll be quick!” She calls back, shaking him off and swinging up onto the net.

 

Cursing under his breath, San rubs the water from his face and looks up through the pelting rain at her. Even Mingi looks up as well, keeping the wheel steady as he watches her. Underneath, Wooyoung messes with ties still, getting them all in check and tied as Alice moves the sail back into place.

 

“It looks good!” Mingi shouts first, even before San can call to her. “Now get down, Alex!”

 

Looking over her shoulder to the deck below, she gives them a thumbs up and a smile.

 

Just then, another howling wind rips across the ship, sending the waves crashing and ship rocking to the side. Alice let’s out a high-pitched shout, gripping the yard tightly as water sloshes over the side of the ship, knocking Wooyoung off his feet and sending San into the netting.

 

“Alex!” Mingi shouts, holding his ground steady at the helm. “Get down! Quickly! Before another wave –” he’s cut off by another sharp shift as the ship rocks to the other side, effetely drenching him as the wave crashes over him.

 

San manages to get his footing and Wooyoung makes it up to their deck just in time for Alice to scream as her hands slip, and she effectively loses her grip on the sail. All three below move into action, but Wooyoung is the closest of the two and rushes across the deck to reach her. For a good few seconds, Alice loses all her breath, staring up as the lighting rips through the sky no more than a few feet off the side of the ship. She opens her mouth to take in air only to be met with the harsh freezing rain on her tongue and just as suddenly as she feels all this, she feels the wind ripping through her soaked clothes and a scream rips from her lungs as she seems to fall faster towards the deck. Just before she can land on the deck, Wooyoung jumps up and catches her, almost tackling her midair, sending them both crashing across the deck. San has just a half a minute to get his bearings and pull the net towards the pair, stopping more damage from happing even as Wooyoung’s back slams into the side of the ship.

 

“Are they alright!?” Mingi shouts over another bout of thunder as San moves the net away and drops to his knees, reaching out for both of their faces which are twisted in pain.

 

“Guys, look at me,” San pats their cheeks, making them both groan in pain, “do you feel any broken bones? That was a long fall, and you could’ve died!”

 

“I’m fine,” Alice huffs out, groaning as her ribs protest her speaking, making her roll back into Wooyoung’s chest.

 

“Maybe,” is the only word Wooyoung can muster, barely heard over the storm as he keeps a protective arm around Alice’s waist.

 

Mingi raises his voice to catch their attention, “get them to Yeosang and have him check, especially Alex! Make sure he didn’t break a bone or rib!”

 

San gives him an okay sign before turning back to the pair and trying to coax them up. It’s in these moments where the two struggles to stand admits the rocking ship and burning pain, that Hongjoong comes out of his cabin in a daze, obviously having heard the commotion above his head, and rushing up the stairs.

 

“What happened?” He asks Mingi, eyes sweeping the deck and landing on the three behind him. “Why aren’t they under deck?”

 

“Sails!” San shouts back, carefully helping Wooyoung hold Alice up.

 

“Alex fell from the mast,” Mingi explains to Hongjoong as he walks over to him, “he and Wooyoung fixed the sails so we can stay on course. Wooyoung caught him though, but I’m worried he could be more injured.”

 

“Go,” Hongjoong grabs the wheel from him, motioning his head back, “carry him and then come back.”

 

Without any hesitation, Mingi turns around and hurries over to them, sweeping Alice up bridal style, with surprisingly little protest. San wraps a careful around arm Wooyoung and helps him down the stairs following Mingi to Yeosang’s room. The navigator is surprised, to say the least, but he quickly gets to work checking them both for major injuries and then requesting San’s help in making up some medicine to attack any infection or fever.

 

When the pair are left on their own, tired and ready for sleep to take them, they look at each other and just start laughing. It hurts their ribs and makes them wince in pain, but broad smiles are stretching across their faces as they giggle quietly to each other.

 

“They’re insane,” Yeosang sighs, rubbing his forehead.

 

“They’re cute though,” San smiles, pushing his hair back, the wet strands effectively sticking together. “It was Alex who jumped at the opportunity, I’m gonna ask Seonghwa exactly what happened.”

 

Yeosang hums, “please do, I’m curious what that idiot might have said. Here, drink this,” he shoves a glass into his hand, “fight the fever you may get. I’ll stay with these two.”

 

San’s eyes shift over to Wooyoung, who is still giggling lightly to himself as he looks at Alice.

 

“He’ll be fine,” Yeosang pats his arm and then rubs it. “If you want, come check on him later, but I need to scold them after they rest and I don’t think you want to see my scold your boy.”

 

At that San’s face, already flushed from the freezing rain seems to turn a darker shade of red. “My boy? He’s not, what are you saying?”

 

Rolling his eyes, Yeosang mutter something under his breath as he steers San towards the door. “I’ll continue this later, I have no energy to do this now. Go back down below and rest until the storm passes, then you can come to see your dumb idiot and the other dumb idiot.”

 

Sucking in a breath through his teeth San looks over at the two idiots, “they are in for some harsh scolding,” then he looks to Yeosang’s unimpressed and quickly heads for the door. “Goodnight Yeosang, take care.”

 

Shaking his head, he turns back to the delirious two and forces them to drink the medicine.

 

When the next day dawns, the storm has calmed down to just a heavy downpour and quiet, distant thunder. Yeosang makes sure to give both Wooyoung and Alice a full-blown lecture about safety and putting their lives at risk. San comes in to fret over them both, and Alice is forced to stay longer than Wooyoung who is released by the end of the night with San watching over him. Mingi comes in at some point to check on Alice and make sure she’s alright, and then Seonghwa shows up, only to also be scolded by Yeosang for a good while before he kicks everyone out and tends to Alice’s bruised ribs. She spends a couple days under Yeosang’s care with visitors before she’s allowed back on deck, greeted happily by a hyper Wooyoung.

 

“Thanks for catching me,” she smiles when he bounds up to her.

 

Wooyoung waves her off with a laugh as he drapes himself over her shoulder. “I’ll always catch you.”

 

Making a face, Alice looks at him, “that sounds so cheesy, please don’t ever try to hit on people like that.”

 

Pouting, Wooyoung drops more of his weight onto her. “I have, it failed.”

 

“I bet,” Alice laughs, patting his head.

 

They swing back into the routine easily enough, with the added duty of cleaning the deck and picking up after the storm. It’s another few days of smooth, sunny sailing before anything happens.

 

Sitting in the crow’s nest with Wooyoung, Alice relaxes against his shoulder, eyes closed. San and the rest of the crew are below unfolding the Spanish sails, taking advantage of the low winds to begin laying them over their current sails, preparing for the last leg of their journey.

 

All of a sudden, Wooyoung jolts forward, causing Alice to let out a grumbled complaint as she catches herself on the mast. She takes a second to get her bearings as Wooyoung jumps to his feet, whipping out his telescope to look into the distant horizon.

 

“Spanish sails!” Wooyoung shouts out, effectively waking Alice up and pulling the rest of the crew’s attention.

 

Alice nervously bites her lip as she quickly stands next to him. Leaning over the railing, she squints out at the far ship, examining its movements. “She’s faster than us, bigger too. They’ll cross our path easily.”

 

“We have the upper hand,” Wooyoung puts his scope down and calls down, “they are faster, but I highly doubt they’re scouting for ships, so they haven’t noticed us yet!”

 

“Raise the Spanish flags!” Hongjoong orders, echoed by Seonghwa as San pulls the crew into order to get the flags in place.

 

Wooyoung and Alice descend quickly from their perch, helping pull up the Spanish sails and flags up into place before the other ship can gather anything different.

 

“Alright, Mingi, I’ll take the wheel,” Hongjoong declares, holding the hilt of his sword close as he hurries up the stairs, “you go below deck with Wooyoung. Get the cannon’s ready just in case and make sure the crew stays quiet.”

 

As they swap places, Seonghwa stands by the railing, calling out orders to get the crew in line and everyone in position. Yeosang comes out of his room cursing under his breath and rolling his neck, muttering about how much of a hassle this will be as he helps Alice with a couple of ties and then moves over to help another set of crew members, slipping in and out of groups to help the process go faster.

 

“Alex,” Hongjoong calls out, startling her from her position by the main mast ties, “how far out is the ship?”

 

Alice stutters for a second, not used to being addressed as Mingi and Wooyoung take off under deck, “they’re just on the horizon. It’s sails only just crested, thankfully they’re distinctive, so we have time to look orderly.”

 

Hongjoong nods his head as San joins him.

 

“We shouldn’t avoid them, if they think we’re Spanish avoiding Spanish it’ll look bad,” San offers, looking to him, “so how shall we proceed?”

 

“Say we ran off course, lost our maps and a bad storm threw us off course. We’ll need guidance as to where we are in relation to the colonies and give them a warning of rough seas potentially,” Hongjoong declares, loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear as well, “got it?”

 

A resounding chorus of “aye, captain” is echoed throughout the ship.

 

The sails fall into place, and the crew takes their positions to get ready. Mingi stays below deck with a bulk of the crew and Yunho. Seonghwa posts up on the stairs down, just out of sight but close enough to intervene in the time of chaos. Yeosang and San take up a post near Hongjoong, map in hand and ready to act as if they’re lost. Alice and Jongho mill around with a handful of other crewmates, looking as a normal crew should. Wooyoung takes his place on the forecastle deck, loading up the swivel cannon and preparing a handful of cannon balls, hidden in a bag, with two other crewmates. They all lie down on the deck, looking to be napping to any other crew passing by.

 

Eventually, the tension builds to an almost breaking point as the ship finally sails upon them. Hongjoong calls to San, addressing him as captain when the ships in sight and San looks up from his map. His face lights up as he looks to the sails, then he whispers something to Yeosang and strides across the deck to be close to other ship. In perfect Spanish, he calls out a greeting and waves to them, their captain waves back. Both ships slow down to coast by each other, drawing their sails in as the captains greet each other form the railings.

 

After a short exchange, San, distressed, explains their situation, full dramatics in effect. Yeosang pipes in, with some softly accented Spanish of his own. The other captain seems to sympathize with them, offering words of encouragement. It all goes smoothly, seeming to be working until it’s suddenly not.

 

“It’s a trap!” Is shouted by someone below deck, causing everyone to freeze.

 

The wind kicks up suddenly as a chill runs down their spins collectively.

 

Tilting his head in shock, San looks to the other captain, stunned as a sly grin forms on his face.

 

“I’m sorry,” the other captain speaks now in perfect English, “but we’re running low on supplies and food and men. You see, we also ran into a storm and something else. We’ve been at sea for so long, and we need help, even if have to take it,” his grin turns menacing as sounds of struggles rise from below deck, “and if you’re this far off course, well, then I bet no one is actually looking for you.”

 

Hongjoong then takes over in an instant, swinging the wheel away as San shouts for full sail. The crew jumps into Action, pulling the sails open to catches the wind as Wooyoung jumps up, mounting the cannon. Before much else can be done, the crew from under deck starts coming out, only they aren’t alone. Sickly pale Spanish soldiers follow them out, swinging swords and fighting off the crew as more climb over the railing from the seaside of the ship.

 

“Toss them overboard!” Hongjoong orders as the ship jerks forward, the sails catching the wind.

 

The other captain laughs like a mad man, clapping his hands as he watches the events transpire, a sailor driven made by the sea. The canons stay silent as the crew focuses on cutting down the soldiers and pushing their bodies off the ship into the water, staining it red. Wooyoung lights the cannon and aims it at their masts. The cannon shot is loud but mostly ignored by the crew even as the sounds of cracking wood fills the air and cries of distress, the crew knows it’s not theirs.

 

Fighting hard, Alice clashes with a couple of Spanish soldiers who corner her against a railing. She slashes desperately, but when both lunge at her, they knock her sword from her hand and hold her by the throat, pushing her back over the railing. Clawing at their arms, she kicks out with her feet, hitting on in the stomach and sending him back, giving her a second to shove the other one off, but she doesn’t have the strength or height to get him off. Just when she thinks it might not work, he’s suddenly ripped from her by his coat, pulled back. Staring in shock, she watches as Mingi shoves him overboard, punching the next guy and shoving him over the railing as well. AS she catches her breath, she catches Mingi’s eyes, and he flashes her a small nervous smile before quickly turning to take on another soldier.

 

Another cannon shot rings out, decimating the main mast of the enemy ship as they manage to sail far enough away to not be in the damage zone. The rest of the Spanish crew fights valiantly, but the crew cuts them down, and as Alice shoves another guy away she watches as Jongho picks the guys up, lifts him above his head and throws him overboard. Stunned for a second, she almost misses the Spaniard lunging for her with a knife, but she knocks his hand away and shoves him to the floor, stepping on his back to keep him down as she examines the rest of the ship. Before she can do anything else with him though, Jongho steps up again and takes him off her hands, throwing him overboard as well. It isn’t long before the ship is cleared and the other ship is left stranded in the ocean.

 

Once Seonghwa gives a quick scan of the ship, he calls out an all clear and Hongjoong drops across the wheel with a heavy sigh.

 

“That was the last thing I expected a Spanish to do,” he mutters, rubbing his face.

 

“We are far from home,” San huffs, pushing his hair back and fanning himself as he looks to the other ship slowly fading away, “they probably didn’t think they could make it back, or they were more lost then we were.”

 

“At least they weren’t too smart,” Mingi pipes up, seeming to have gained more energy from this encounter, “we saw them through the cannon holes, and some of their boots scrapped the wood.”

 

“Thank god,” Hongjoong groans, standing up straight. “We didn’t even get a chance to properly fly the Spanish sails yet. At least now we can leave them on until we reach the North Atlantic, we’ll switch to basic white sails then,” he holds the wheel for Mingi, “take over, I wanna check our course with Yeosang and make sure we aren’t going in the wrong direction.”

 

As Hongjoong and Yeosang disappear into his quarters, Seonghwa starts calling out orders for cleaning and fixing up the ship which the crew falls into quickly, even with the adrenaline still running high.

 

The day winds down into the night, and most of the crew calls it quits reasonably early, worn out from the sudden battle. Alice posts up in the Galley, trying not to complain about her ribs or let anyone know they still kind of hurt. In all actuality, she’s waiting for Jongho, because she’s very curious about a few things.

 

“So,” Alice spots Jongho walking in, apple in hand, “Jongho.”

 

Freezing momentarily, he looks around before landing on her. “Um, what?”

 

“I’m curious about something,” she explains as he moves to sit next to her, “you are strong enough to throw people overboard, but so cheerful and full of life when singing sea shanties. I feel like there’s a darker history here I’m missing, no one’s just that strong naturally.”

 

Jongho laughs, throwing an arm around her shoulder. “You have no idea, I am actually just naturally this strong, but I wasn’t always cheerful or mischievous. Well, maybe I was always mischievous.”

 

“That I believe,” she hums, eyeing him as she drinks from her glass. “Are you going to tell me though, or do I just have to like play a guessing game of your backstory.

 

“I’ll tell you, because I trust you,” Jongho smiles, ruffling her hair. He finishes off his apple, leaving Alice in a moment of suspense before he begins his tale. “I was born with this strength a gift of mine, I guess. I considered it a curse for a good while because the thing about my strength is that some people look for guys like more to make slaves. I know, not totally surprising right?” He chuckles to himself as he stands, walking over to get himself a mug of beer. “My parents decided that I was worth a pretty penny and sold me to a fighting colony. I was like, super young at the time, so the colony is mostly all I remember at this point.”

 

“Jesus,” Alice whispers in horror, “people literally do that?”

 

“Oh yeah,” Jongho fills his cup, takes a long sip, fills it again, and then walks back to the table. “People are sold all the time. Fighting colonies, able men knocked out and sold to ships, plantation slaves, in this day and age it’s just normal that people seem to be the hot ticket. I was very hot for my strength. Growing up the colony, I would fight to survive, so I grew even stronger. It wasn’t until they put me up against a kid,” he gives a heartbreaking chuckle as a dark look crosses his features, “a kid barely even ten. They knew I’d kill him, so they wanted to see it, but I refused to fight. So,” he heaves a sigh, “they tried to kill me and threw me in the ocean.”

 

“Tried to kill you,” Alice muses, “obviously, that didn’t work.”

 

Her comment lifts Jongho’s mood, making him smile again as he nods his head. “I’m a tough rat to get rid of. In the end, I wound up in Nassau and become the most renowned street rat, got in a lot of trouble for stealing and causing havoc. I had to hide away on a ship, it just happened to be ATEEZ. I thought they’d stay at port longer, but they didn’t.”

 

“Oh,” Alice feels the trouble brewing, having been an official stowaway on ATEEZ, “how did that go when they found you?”

 

“Similar in ways to you, Hongjoong found me and was rightfully angry,” Jongho smiles even brighter now. “I was way more of a brat back then, not giving a straight answer and annoying the crap out of him and Seonghwa. In the end, they decided I wasn’t a threat, and it was Seonghwa who proposed having me join the crew.”

 

“That’s shocking,” she mutters into her glass, looking down at the table.”

 

“It is, but see, that’s why I keep saying he’ll come around. You have an extreme case of bad luck. I mean,” he huffs and grabs her arm, “you fell off the mizzen yard, you could have died. Your bad luck is still very much present, and that’s why he’s hesitant. He will come around.”

 

While Alice is still very unsure about that, she leaves it there as another person joins them, San, another person she has questions for.

 

Before he can even settle, she rounds on him, “and you!”

 

Stumbling in surprise, San’s eyes widen as he looks to the pair, seeing Alice watching him with determination and Jongho laughing into his mug. “Me?”

“Yes, you, you spoke such fluent Spanish,” she explains, looking at him in wonder, “how and where did you learn.”

 

“Oh! My father taught me from a young age before I left England,” he supplies, moving to the seat across from the pair. “He was a trader that sailed the seas for months on end, part of the reason I wanted to sail.”

 

“Heritage,” Alice nods along, “I get that. If he was a trader, then why aren’t you a trader.”

 

Sucking in a breath, San sighs and frowns. “That’s a little sadder story. You see, my dad was kind of mean, not abusive, just mean and he always declared that the sea was for men. No one faint of heart could sail; he used that as to why I could never join him and why he left me with my grandparents to be raised while he worked. I studied hard while he was gone to learn Spanish and sailing so he'd be proud and he was at first,” there’s a bitter tone in his voice as he continues on, “he even taught me some more for a while, and then he stopped. Suddenly, he decided I would die at sea, and I would never be fit to sail like other men. Naturally, I took this a reason to run away and sail, so I did.”

 

“Rebel,” Jongho comments, making San smile.

 

“A bit, yeah. I sailed for years before returning home to an unimpressed father and the knowledge that my grandparents had been lost to a bad winter. Having no one to tie me down, I left for good and found ATEEZ,” he finishes with a proud grin.

 

Looking between them, Alice feels a small hallow feeling grow in her chest. “ATEEZ really is your family, like a real family.”

 

Both of them agree, smiling.

 

“They were there when we needed them,” San explains, “and they let us in because they knew we would be a family in the end.”

 

“So, it’s just me then,” she grumbles bitterly.

 

“We keep telling you they’ll come around,” Jongho bumps her shoulder, trying to get her to smile. It takes a bit more coaxing to get her to actually smile, but he considers it a win.

 

They manage to move the conversation to a lighter topic, pulling Alice out of her head and putting her back in the present. They even discuss the attack of the day and how exhilarating it was. Eventually, Yunho returns to makes the whole crew drinks a batch of his special tea, making sure everyone gets a good rest after the day’s activities.

 

It’s the next morning that Hongjoong calls Seonghwa to his cabin, just as the sun rises.

 

When he enters after giving a short knock, he peeks his head around the door and does a quick sweep of the room. It’s in the usual state of disarray, but Hongjoong isn’t seated at his desk. Stepping in further he looks towards thebe din the corner to find Hongjoong, sitting, cross-legged on the mattress and tapping a quill on a page in one of his journals.

 

“Captain?” Seonghwa calls, softly closing the door before walking over.

 

“We’ve been at sea nearly three months,” Hongjoong bites his lip, “I think.”

 

Seonghwa nods his head. “That seems about right.”

 

“And we just had a Spanish ship try to kill us, leaving minor injuries sure, but they still tried,” he sighs running a hand through his hair and pushing it back. “I want a mental health check. I know you usually do them without asking when we reach our destination, but since I’m unsure how much longer we’ll be on sea I need you to conduct mini health checks,” he taps the quill once more before tossing it and closing the book.

 

Eyeing him with a raised brow, Seonghwa tilts his head and asks, “shall we conduct yours first them, captain?”

 

“Last,” he grunts, shaking his head and holding the book out to him.

 

He takes the book and continues to stare down his captain. “Are you sure?”

 

“Yes, I’m sure, he sighs, pushing his hair back once more. “Check on the crew and bring me the book back by night, I’ll go over it and see if anyone needs help.” Go.”

 

“Aye,” nodding slowly, he hesitates still but, in the end, follows the orders and heads back out on the deck.

 

Making his way up to the helm, he informs Mingi of his duties, which Wooyoung overhears from his post on the Mizzen Mast.

 

“Mom on deck!” Wooyoung hollers out the crew, the call echoing into the underdeck.

 

Glaring up at the gunner, Seonghwa sighs, “thanks for that Wooyoung, ever time,” the last two words are muttered out under his breath making Mingi grin.

 

“How would people know though,” Wooyoung defends, hanging over the edge of the mast tree, “they need to know we’re under health checks. It’s just tradition at this point.”

 

Snorting, Mingi nods his head. “He’s not wrong, so you can’t even fault him.”

 

“I can’t fault him no,” he turns to look up at Wooyoung with a sly grin, “but it can make him go first.”

 

The rest of the day, Seonghwa filters slowly through each and every crew member, jotting down their names and notes on their mental state as he interviews them one by one. After all the notes he writes down whether they are in good mental condition or if they need a morale boost or the ever more severe risk of a sanity check. These checks go well into the darkness after sunset, and he saves his most dreaded crew member for last, Alice.

 

The lantern on her desk illuminates the room in a soft, warm glow. Alice taps her pencil on her notebooks, which are spread out across the desk. Charts, quadrants, notes all on the voyage and others. She wants to write about the run-in with the Spanish and the way time at sea can make you go a little crazy, but the words just won’t come to her tired brain. Sighing, she sets the pencil down and drops her head into her hands. It isn’t until there’s a soft knock at her door that she moves, lifting her head as she calls out for them to come in. To her surprise, she looks over to see Seonghwa opening her door and stepping inside.

 

“I’m supposed to be doing mental health checks,” Seonghwa declares, with a leather-bound book in his hands, “required by the captain.”

 

“Ya know, Seonghwa,” Alice chuckles to herself, pushing her chair back, “you don’t have to act like you care, right?”

 

Seonghwa’s face remains in a blank slate, but he does blink a couple times. “Excuse me?”

 

“I mean, just that you obviously came down here against your own will and you could care less about whether I’m mentally sound,” she waves her hands and stands up. “I bet you just want this done so I can leave your family alone because you see me as a bad luck trinket you can’t get rid of fast enough.”

 

“That’s a little harsh,” he says, quieter this time.

 

Alice shakes her head, frowning at him. “Am I wrong, because if you feel differently, you have not shown that? I think you’ve made it very clear you hate me.”

 

Seonghwa has no response to that as he knows she’s right. He squeezes the book in his hands tighter as he drops his head, blonde bangs falling over his eyes and hiding the guilt form her view. So, all she does is sigh as another weight drops on her shoulders.

 

“Exactly, just,” she turns to the lantern, turning it down and plunging the room into darkness, “say I passed the check and leave it to my friends to look after me.”

 

“Friends?” Seonghwa squints his eyes, thinking about how the rest of the crew acts around her, surprised she actually calls them her friends.

 

“The crew, I mean, I consider them friends,” she says quickly, tired and exasperatedly running a hand through her hair. “Not family, so don’t freak out and think I’m intruding on your family. They’re just friends that I will leave once this is over, as promised. Trust me,” her voice drops, sounding a little broken, “I didn’t mean to get close to them. It just happened, I guess.”

 

Before Seonghwa can defend himself or refute her, though he’s honestly unsure what he could possibly say, she walks over to her bed and crawls under the covers and mutters a defeated, “just go Seonghwa.”

 

He watches her for a minute more until she settles. Slowly closing her door, he holds in a sigh. In the dark of the ship, he stands outside her door for a good long few minutes, letting the information sink with a heavy heart.

 

“I need rum,” he mutters to himself, turning to head up to the main deck.

 

In the quiet galley, he fishes around for a bottle of rum and heads up to the main deck where he knows Mingi will be.

 

As soon as the fresh air hits him, the soft breeze cooling his heated cheeks, he pulls the cap off the bottle and takes a long drink. Mingi notices immediately with a sharp gasp.

 

“Our every poise quartermaster, drinking like a classic drunkard?” He says dramatically placing a hand over his heart. “I think I may faint.”

 

Seonghwa simply flips him off as he finishes this drink, wiping his chin and then walking up to join him at the helm. “Shut up, I just realized how much of an ass I am.”

 

Mingi hums, immediately understanding the situation. “Did you at least get him to answer the questions?”

 

“Nope,” he takes another drink and then sighs, “he pointed out how I don’t really care and that I’d rather him not be here. I can’t even correct him,” he gives a painful laugh. “When did I become this mean?”

 

“Our North Star has lost his way,” Mingi muses quietly.

 

“I can’t even redeem myself,” he continues after another drink eyes getting hazy as the alcohol begins to take effect, “obviously if I turned my attitude around now I’d just look like even more of an ass. I just,” he groans, moving to sit on the floor next to Mingi’s feet in defeat and take another swig. “I still am unsure if this is the right decision. Letting the crew get close with him, letting him worm his way into the crew, letting him be with us. I’m just very worried something bad is going to happen.”

 

Mingi sighs, looking worriedly down at him. “I know that your gut feelings aren’t wrong, either. We call you North Star for a reason.”

 

They stay silent for a tense minute more, Seonghwa almost finishing off the bottle in a desperate attempt to punish himself. His cheeks begin to get rosy, from a combination of the cool breeze and the alcohol now coursing through his veins.

 

Clearing his throat, Mingi nervously plays with the pegs on the wheel as he quietly asks, “what is your gut feeling anyway?”

 

Seonghwa stars at the bottle as he contemplates this, lifting it to his lips he tips his head back and finishes it off. As he brings it back down, he lets it slip from his fingers and clack onto the ship floor.

 

“My gut feeling is,” he hesitates, keeping his head down, “is that something bad is going to happen and one of us in this main crew is going to die. Past that I can’t feel anything, so I don’t know who it is I just know it happens close to me, that’s why I can feel it.”

 

“Shit,” Mingi heaves a long sigh, “have you at least told Hongjoong?”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Seonghwa looks up with terrified eyes. “I don’t’ want him to get scared and turn around because then she dies, at least,” he closes his eyes and rubs his head not even noticing his slip of pronouns in his quickly inebriated state, “that’s what I’m gathering here. If she doesn’t do this, she dies but if we do this someone else will die. Neither are good options I know, but I just want to see where this goes first because anyone dying isn’t an option. It happens near me though so I know I can prevent it, hopefully. I just need to figure out who it is.”

 

Mingi finally looks at him, concern swimming in his eyes as he looks down at him “Do you think it will work out, honestly.”

 

“I’m honestly not sure,” he mutters, picking up the bottle again, “I’m simply hoping it will.”

 

As he stares at the bottle, he feels his frustration grow. Standing up abruptly, he storms to the side of the ship and throws the bottle into the ocean, heaving out a heavy breath at the sudden surge of rage. Huffing for breath he stands there in a minor haze, staring at the dark churning waves below as they cut through them. With his back turned, he doesn’t see Hongjoong quietly climbing the stairs opposite them, but Mingi already knew he had been there for a good few minutes. Hongjoong joins him by the wheel. Both stares are Seonghwa whose too lost to notice them, swaying on his feet and looking dangerously close to falling off the ship.

 

“I forget how quickly alcohol consumes him,” Mingi muses. “I have to remind myself that this is why he doesn’t drink much anymore,” he looks down at Hongjoong who has his arms crossed and thumbnail between his teeth, face twisted into a troubled thinking face. “You heard, right?”

 

“Yeah,” he breathes out, biting down harder, “yeah, I heard everything.”

 

“If I'm honest,” he looks back to Seonghwa, “if our North Star is even second-guessing his hatred towards Alex, maybe we were all a bit too harsh to shove her away.”

 

“Maybe so,” Hongjoong drops his arm and stares at Seonghwa for a minute more before carefully stepping up to him.

 

It’s a soft hand on his shoulder that pulls Seonghwa back to the ship and out of his head, making him jerk in surprise away from the touch. Looking bedside him he finds Hongjoong cautiously looking at him, worry dancing in his eyes.

 

“Captain-”

 

“You could’ve told me, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong cuts him off. His voice isn’t what Seonghwa expects though, it’s soft and kind, reassuring even as he rests his hand onto his shoulder. “I’ll admit it doesn’t sound great, but we’ll figure it out. We always do.”

 

Seonghwa relaxes under his gaze, nodding slowly.

 

“I promise,” Hongjoong squeezes his shoulder, “no one is going to die.”

 

“You can’t be sure,” Seonghwa fires back, weakly, “you can’t ever be truly sure.”

 

“I have faith,” he reaches up and gently grasps his necklace. He then let’s go and places both hands on his shoulders. “Now, I’m seriously worried about you, especially since you drank a whole bottle of rum in under an hour. I’ll have Mingi go check on Alice and then tomorrow after you sleep we’ll check on you, okay? Promise me you’ll go sleep?”

 

Seonghwa wants to fight, but instead, he nods his head. “I’m getting another bottle of rum, and then I’m going to go to bed.”

 

“We’ll take it,” he claps his shoulder and then steers him down to the stairs.

 

Mingi gives relived sigh as he watches Hongjoong wrap Seonghwa’s arm around his shoulder and guides him down into the hull. Once Hongjoong’s sure Seonghwa is safely in his cot and in bed, ready for exhaustion to take him, he goes to the galley and grabs him a bottle of rum. While there he snatches up Seonghwa’s forgotten book and returns to him to give him the rum. Then he heads up to take over for Mingi and passes him Seonghwa’s book.

 

“I’m sure she’s not asleep,” Hongjoong explains, “just check on her. I know the rest kind of watch over her, but I want it on record. Write down everything. I’ve heard Wooyoung talk about her nightmares, bring it up if you can.”

 

Mingi eyes him in surprise for a minute before deciding it’s best to not mention the genuine care he sees in his eyes. He simply takes the book and heads down to Alice’s’ room.

 

When a soft knock comes to her door, she’s fully prepared to snap at Seonghwa, expecting him to be back but when she sits up and glares at the door, she finds Mingi walking in and quietly closing the door behind him.

 

“Mingi, what are you doing here?” She asks, sitting up a little straighter.

 

Walking over to her desk, he turns the chair around so he can face and her and turns her lantern back up, letting the still live embers spark again and light the room. “Look,” he starts as he sits, “I know Seonghwa didn’t actually check on you, he feels a little like shit for being so mean that you’d outright refuse him. It actually made him drink a shit load of rum, so he probably won’t remember feeling too bad in the morning, but give him credit for at least feeling bad enough to drink,” when Alice doesn’t seem to understand Mingi clarifies with, “he rarely drinks.”

 

Nodding, she looks down at her hands. “So, then did Hongjoong send you too?”

 

“Yes,” Mingi admits, making Alice’s shoulders drop, “but,” he continues, “you’ve never on record talked about anything, and we need to check the entire crew’s health. That includes yours, it’s just as important.”

 

“Is it?” She challenges, albeit weakly, but she still tries to fight.

 

Mingi doesn’t leave room for question though, opening the book. “It is, now talk. Wooyoung’s mentioned nightmares, I know the Spanish thing was a little intense, and we’ve been on the sea over a month now. So just talk about your mental stability these last couple of months.”

 

Alice hesitates at first, staring at Mingi and trying to gauge his actual care level. When he doesn’t back down from her and just waits patiently, she decides it’s best to just talk. So, quietly in the dark room, she admits that her nightmares seem to be better and then fills him in on how her nightmares were worse before. She declares that she feels a little better the closer they sail to Ireland and how less little miss haps happen the closer they get. The hardest part is not being fully accepted by the main heads of the crew yet is something that slips past her lips without her meaning too, so she slaps a hand over her mouth as she stares wide-eyed at the wall before her. For a second there, she felt as if she was with the others and not Mingi, Hongjoong’s first mate and one of the top three. Quietly, she looks back down and apologizes, which effectively breaks Mingi’s heart.

 

“It’s okay,” he says in the softest voice Alice has ever heard, “I know we haven’t been gracious towards you, but Seonghwa means well, and I’m just,” he moves his hand around laughing gently, “an idiot honestly.”

 

“No, no,” Alice waves him off with a sad smile, “I know my story still has to be proven. The father thing, the Ireland thing, all that. I know I don’t have very many reputable sources.”

 

“It’s fine,” Mingi smiles at her, big and bright, “we’re coming around even without that. You’re a good addition to the crew, just don’t tell the captain I said that. He’s still coming around. Give him time.”

 

Alice twists her hands together at the mention of the captain. Mingi sees this reaction and holds in a frustrated noise, knowing the captain is the only one who can genuinely convince her that she’s wholly welcome.

 

“Trust me,” he stands up, walking over to gently pat her head, “the captain will welcome you, just give him time.”

 

He waits for Alice to look at him, smile, and nod in understanding. Then he leaves her to sleep, reminding her that if she can’t sleep, he’ll be at the helm. They quietly bid each other goodnight then. As the door closes, Alice feels this distinct warmth and uplifting feeling take over, a smile even stays on her lips as she crawls further under her covers. For the first time, she feels like the tides are beginning to change.

 

Mingi goes back up to find Hongjoong at the helm, notebook in hand as he sketches. Even though he doesn’t look up from his book, Mingi knows he’s aware of his presence, so he walks up to him waving the leather book.

 

“I have everything in here she said,” he explains as they switch positions, Hongjoong taking the book as Mingi sakes the wheel. “Neither of us three – you, me, and Seonghwa – have made this easy on her, and turning our attitudes around isn’t easy to do, but I think she genuinely believes we mean well.”

 

“We are trying,” Hongjoong admits, “I just still am unsure. I think I’m just at war with how I feel,” he sighs as he closes his notebook and begins looking over the notes Mingi took on Alice.

 

“We are,” Mingi agrees, eyeing him, “and I get it’s hard, but why is it a war in your head?”

 

Hongjoong finishes reading and closes the book before responding, “I just feel I shouldn’t trust her yet, there’s something about her presences that still makes me feel like she needs to prove herself. I don’t’ know if it’s past reservations about her honesty and the validity of her story or not. I just, it’s complicated,” he waves a hand with a dismissive note to his voice as she moves to sit next to Mingi, setting the leather book aside and opening his notebook again to start sketching.

 

The moon breaks through the clouds, illuminating the deck of the ship enough for Mingi to look down at his captain, jacketless now as the crew is all asleep, shirt partially unbuttoned as the mermaid necklace hangs over his sketch pad, seeming to glow softly under the moonlight. He looks to his notebook and realizes that he recognizes the person Hongjoong is sketching carefully as if he doesn’t want to mess up the image.

 

“Are you drawing,” he squints down, trying to see if he’s right, “Alex?”

 

Freezing, Hongjoong’s pencil hovers over the tips of her hair. As Mingi looks closer, he realizes it’s from the day her and Wooyoung had been fixing the sails, she’s sitting on a sail yard with her head tilted back as the wind blows around her hair. Mingi gives a low whistle.

 

“That’s really good, you’ve gotten better,” he smiles, looking proud. “Does she really have that many freckles though? I never noticed.”

 

“I’ve been trained to see every detail,” Hongjoong murmurs shyly as his pencil descends to the paper to continue drawing strands of her hair, “I’m fucking observant.”

 

Mingi laughs happily. “I’m glad you see to be growing fond of her, see that war in your head must already be a losing battle.”

 

“Let’s keep it between us,” Hongjoong growls, glaring at the picture, still unsure of his own feelings.

 

Shaking his head, Mingi stares up at the moon as it slips in and out of the now only lightly closely sky. “Aye, aye, captain.”

 

The night following the mental health checks, San calls the whole crew up to the main deck, shortly after the sun has set and the moon shines down on the soft waves o the sea. The ocean is calm around them as they all gather together, picking seats on the floor, the railing, the cannons, and boxes scattered. Hongjoong stands at the helm, arms draped over the pegs as he steers the ship. Mingi and Seonghwa sit next to each other at the top of the stairs to his left, watching as the crew gathers around. Alice takes a spot near the railing, further back near Yeosang’s room with said man, waiting for the reason they’re here now. Wooyoung sits next to San, who is standing up on a box in the middle of everything waiting for everyone to settle down. Yunho and Jongho make themselves comfortable next to Wooyoung as well, seeming to be uninterested in San, unlike Wooyoung who is staring up at him intently.

 

“Alright, let’s settle down,” San calls out, effectively quieting the crew and bringing their attention to him. “I’m not here to tell you any more scary stories or freak you out, I am here to remind us of our captain’s heroic feats!”

 

The crew cheers at this, Alice even smiles. She quietly excited to learn more about his backstory, which is kept so well under lock and key.

 

San holds his hands up to quiet the crew as he grins, full and bright. “I know, our captain proved to a great one with the Spaniards, but I also realize a lot of you are new crew members and have never heard how our captain came to be a captain. So, sit back and listen.”

 

As if this is a routine, which Alice wouldn’t be surprised if it were, Jongho gets up and moves around dimming lanterns to keep the light low and bright around where San stands.

 

“Our story begins with our captain as a small deckhand, not much taller now so small still fits,” the crew laughs lightly as Hongjoong flips off the back of his head. “He was just a simple deckhand, jumping from crew to crew doing simple work. His goal was to work his way up to become captain, but he never with a crew long enough to gain the acclaim. Then one day, the crew he sailed with ran into an ambush, the British,” the crew calls out the British, shouting profanities at them. “I know,” San waves his hands to calm them down, “they are the bane of the sea, evil creatures. So, they ran into an ambush, a naval fleet blocking their path. The captain at the time did the right thing at first, he tried to fight. The thing he did wrong was jump ship when the British fleet closed in and boarded. A poor captain; a coward if ever there was one. He jumped ship, the British boarded, and the quartermaster was slain. The crew had no guidance. Hongjoong, Mingi, and Seonghwa all fought valiantly in that battle, killing officers and trying to save the ship, but there was no one to steer them away!” San gives a dramatic gasp, placing his hands over his mouth. “No one was at the helm! No one was guiding them, and the crew was too busy fighting to notice, except one lone crew member. Hongjoong, took to the wheel, throwing the ship sideways to pull away from the British, he started shouting orders to get the sails full, fire cannons and the crew listened. No hesitation! They just did as he said because who else could they listen to? No one else took charge. Our captain showed no fear in the face of danger. Just like he did back then he still does now, our fearless leader!”

 

The crew cheers loudly at that, clapping and whistling, effectively bring a blush to Hongjoong’s face as he waves off their praise. “I just do what’s necessary,” Hongjoong declares, laughing gently with a smile.

 

“Always humble,” Seonghwa takes over, “even back then when me and Mingi declared he should be the captain since he got the rest of the crew back to safety, alive! He dismissed the option of being captain, thinking it best to not take it, but in the end, the whole crew voted for him.”

 

“To our captain!” Mingi shouts, raising his glass and causing the crew to cheer once again.

 

Still flushed, Hongjoong bows his head, accepting the praise with red ears.

 

The following stories San and the crew share are not as harrowing or heroic, but each has a certain spark to them that lights a fire in the crew. Stories of journeys past and victories or take over. It does the intended job; by the time the moon begins to descend from its peak, the crew is merry and in drunken high spirits as they either doze off or slink to their cots below deck.

 

Alice watches Hongjoong and Seonghwa converse on the top deck, their smiles infectious and a sight for sore eyes to her. As Hongjoong laughs at something, his necklace bounces for a second, catching in the light and pulling Alice’s attention.

 

“The necklace has a story, right?” She inquires, turning to Yeosang.

 

Pulling his gaze away from the sea, he looks over at Alice, then to Hongjoong. “Captain’s mermaid necklace?”

 

Humming in confirmation, she turns back to watch Hongjoong.

 

“That’s a much more,” he ponders for a second, “personal story. We know, us main seven he’s told, but we all heard at different times. It’s a true testament to how well he cares for you.”

 

“So, the story is dear to him then,” Alice surmises with a nod.

 

“Correct.”

 

Alice watches him for a second longer before looking away with a sigh that doesn’t go unnoticed by Yeosang.

 

Reaching over, he rubs her back and smiles. “Go get some sleep, we should reach Ireland soon.”

 

Without a fight, Alice drops her head. “Alright, I’ll call it a night,” she flashes, Yeosang a smile, leaning on the railing before pushing off and turning to head down.

 

The rest of the crew soon follows suit and the night winds down to silence once again. The following day starts slowly, most of the crew stays in their cots even as the sun rises into the sky. Seonghwa stands at the helm, taking over for Mingi who went to sleep shortly after sunrise. He stands alone on the deck, enjoying the quiet atmosphere and soft breeze. A while after he takes over, Yeosang joins him.

 

“How much farther?” Seonghwa asks as he climbs the stairs.

 

“We should reach Ireland any time now,” Yeosang admits, “the horizons look foggy, we might even be closer than we realize.”

 

Slowly as the sun rises, so does the crew.

 

It’s as the sun passes its peak that Seonghwa and Yeosang see it, glimpsing through the horizon fog there see flashes of green. They wait a while longer before they’re sure. They wait until the clouds break and the sun shines, slowly turning the ship towards the landmass.

 

“Ireland,” Yeosang breaths out, staring in awe.

 

Seonghwa smiles at the sight, “you’re our navigator,” he addresses Yeosang, “I’ll let you declare our sanctuary.”

 

Grinning widely, Yeosang cups his hands over his mouth and shouts, “Land ahead! Ireland in sight!”


	15. Chapter Twelve: Ireland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song(s): “Land of a Thousand Dreams” by Byrne and Kelly

* * *

 

Ireland is just as green as all the travelers describe it. As the Desire sails around the coastal cliffs, the whole crew is positioned around the railing, staring in awe at the emerald isle. Alice stands on the railing, leaning over as she smiles from ear to ear at her home. The wind is strong here, blowing the sails and whipping her hair around even as the sails are pulled in so the ship can slow down as they turn in to the cove of Kinsale. Hongjoong also stands at the helm, admiring the bright, surreal green landscape.

“Despite being born in London, I have never seen Ireland before,” Yunho comments from where he stands beside Alice. “I think none of us have ever really seen this island, it’s always something you sail past.”

Alice hums, nodding in agreement. “Ireland falls under the radar currently, I’m sure Britain will try and take control eventually or find us a threat, but my mother always boasted about how Ireland was a silent enemy that people always underestimated.”

“Really now?” Yeosang turns his focus on their conversation.

Nodding, Alice grins. She feels warm being able to speak about her mother in such a nice aspect., so she adds, “she said we were the fiercest of the people in this area and that when the time came down to it, we always pull through. Nothing can hold us back from our destiny.”

“I’ve met a few Irish women,” Yeosang admits, “they were all women who wouldn’t let anyone step on them. You all have this fiery spark in you.”

“It comes from here, so,” she steps down off the railing, turning to look up at Yeosang. “I bet you are going to find the nearest book shop and collect as much as you can, correct?”

Sheepishly, Yeosang laughs, raising a fist to cough into it as he looks away. “I might, we’ll see.”

Giggling, Alice grins.

The ship sails smoothly through the entrance into Kinsale. Houses dot the landscape before them, but mostly the hills are rolling green farms. In the distance, a flock of white sheep can be seen running through the fields. Hongjoong guides Mingi towards the docks, a small space just before another small beach area. There’s a soft murmuring sound coming from the town, nothing big and hectic like other big port pirate towns, but something quieter and homelier. As the ship costs towards the dock, San and Wooyoung jump to the docks to tie down the ship as other crew members lower the anchor. The boarding plank is lowered, and the crew waits Hongjoong disembarks.

“The air here is really fresh,” Hongjoong remarks with a wide grin. “Let’s find an inn and a bar. We will be staying here for one night only, we’ll set sail for London in the morning so if any of you want to fork out some extra coin for a night in a good bed then, by all means, go for it.”

The crew gives loud cheers of joy before they’re dismissed and begin to disperse.

“London?” Alice looks to Yeosang, raising a brow.

“Yes, London,” Yeosang coughs, scratching the back of his neck as he quickly steps away and off the ship.

Alice follows close to him, “wait why London.”

“Crew business,” Seonghwa cuts in, glaring at her, “and you aren’t a part of the crew, so it isn’t your business.”

Yeosang scoffs, crossing his arms as he glares down his quartermaster. “You could say it just a bit nicer, you know that, right?”

“I do,” he moves his gaze to him, “but it isn’t her business why the captain needs to go to London. She just needs to take care of her curse, and nothing should be an issue. Which is your duty, the rest of the crew is to rest and relax on land for the evening, and you are to help her figure out where she needs to go. I’d make it quick, the sun sets soon. Days are getting shorter,” he then turns on heel and walks down the docks towards the town.

A cold wind blows past them, sending a chill down Alice’s back and goosebumps rising on her arms.

“He means well,” Yeosang sighs out as if he doesn’t fully believe himself, so Alice doesn’t even bother to respond. Looking over at her, he sees her biting on her thumb as she looks between the disembarking crew heading to town and the ship. “We should get you a room before the inns fill up, this town is going to love this influx of coin.”

“I’ll,” she lets out a long breath and drops her hand, “I’ll sleep on the ship still. Best to stay where I’m expected to be, but until then. Why don’t you go get a room, and I’ll start looking around town for a fortune teller or something? We’ll meet up around sunset, okay?”

“Are you sure,” he reaches out to gently rest a hand on her shoulder.

Nodding, she smiles, “I’ll be fine. I’m home after all.”

With that, she begins to make her way into to town, leaving Yeosang standing on the docks feeling unease and frustration. Though he knows there’s nothing he can do in the current situation. So, he heads to the inns with the rest of the crew.

The streets of Kinsale are cobble and sparse full of people. The occasional passerby smiles at Alice as she wanders around, and she passes them a kind smile back. It doesn’t feel strange or dangerous to her, it just feels calm and relaxed. She takes her time looking at each building she passes, examine some window items before moving on. Soon enough she finds herself on the other side of the small docking lake, standing on a road just above the water that looks out into the cove opening and the ocean beyond. The wind blows over her still, making waves ripple into the coastline below her, crashing gently. She takes a long, deep breath of fresh, cold air.

“If it isn’t Alice Stewart,” an older female with a distinct Irish accent calls out in surprise from behind her.

Whipping around, Alice holds up her fists, ready to fight but instead of an enemy, she’s met with the soft smile of red hair elderly lady.

The lady smiles, shuffling up to Alice, “I almost thought my cards were wrong, and you would never come.”

“How do you know my name?” Alice inquires, slowly lowering her fists.

“Those with the sight know everything lass, now come here,” she waves her hands for her to come closer. “Let me see you, you are much prettier than described. Though your eyes were an accurate description.”

Stepping closer, Alice blinks at her, “my eyes?”

The lady hums, reaching up to gently cup Alice’s face. “They hold the sea in them, showing your true heritage through and through.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m a lot confused right now,” Alice laughs lightly, shaking her head as she leans back away from the lady’s hands.

“That’s alright,” she pats Alice’s arm, “our God will explain it all to you, better than an old fortune teller who hasn’t had much a chance to use her craft.”

“I imagine so,” Alice steals a glance back over to the docks, “not many pirates and sailors come this way anymore.”

“No, sadly. Your crew may be a good burst of business though,” the lady seems to beam at the prospect of the new coin before waving her hands. “I digress. You need to find our God and speak to him. I can show you where the general area is, but you will have to trust your instinct to guide you to him. He never shows up in the same place, always on the south coast but never the same ruins, the same cave, or same field,” Alice nods along with her words, even as she begins to grumble about how the God should really make it more convenient for his flock to find him time of need before waving her hands again. “I’m babbling, no need to waste your time. Come now.”

She takes Alice’s hand gently in hers and guides her back to the town. They walk for a little while through some back allies before stopping at a table outside of an open plan bar area.

“The main drinking hole of town,” the lady murmurs as to explain their location as she sits down.

“Okay,” Alice looks around, seeing familiar low-level crew members and even Mingi and Seonghwa in a back corner then placing herself slowly in the chair to not draw any attention from them.

Once Alice is sitting down and looking at her again, the lady gives the directions, “the road you were on continues all the way to the coast. The path you entered from holds your meeting location. Follow the road until you feel a tug, then follow that to your meeting place.”

Biting her lip, Alice clasps her hands together and leans on the table. “That seems both too simple and too ambiguous.”

The lady laughs, smiling, “you think Gods make it easy to find them? If that were the case, fewer people would call me crazy.”

Alice aggress with her, laughing as well.

“The sun will be setting soon, I suggest you inform your crew and then head out with someone,” she warns, reaching forward to pat Alice’s hands. “While the mores are relatively safe, the cliffs can be dangerous in the dark. Would hate to have such a pretty bonnie lass fall into those cold seas.”

“I will,” Alice smiles, nervously, “but I should warn you that they aren’t my crew per se.”

“Oh? The cards said they would be,” she squints her eyes, thinking back to all her readings. “Yes, I’m sure the cards said that you would sail with your family.”

“They aren’t,” sighing, Alice lifts her hands to rub her face and then push her hair back as she sighs. “They aren’t my family, maybe the beginning of friends but I’m positive I wouldn’t be considered family.”

The lady then goes stiff, getting this far away look as her eyes glaze over. Alice freezes as well, eyes widening as she looks at her, chills of fear running down her spine as she blinks and raising a hand. She’s about to ask if she’s okay when she begins talking.

“You will soon learn the hard way that the ones you think hate you don’t, and they’d do anything for you. He’d do anything to keep you alive,” as soon as the last word leaves her lips, she blinks, and her eyes return to normal. Then she smiles and pats Alice’s hand as if that didn’t just happen. “You’d be surprised lass,” then she stands and sweeps away, disappearing without a word into another alley.

Alice sits for a second, hand still in the air as she stares after the lady.

“That was,” she huffs, dropping her hand slowly on the table, “the weirdest thing I think I have experienced … and I’m cursed,” she grumbles the last part before pushing her chair back and standing up.

Just as she’s about to walk away, she hears her name being called. Coming down the road is Yunho and Jongho, trailing behind them is Yeosang who got his arms crossed over his chest as he scans each building they pass.

Once they’re close enough to reach out to her Yunho grins and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “I heard you’re staying on the boat tonight, which is fine, but I want to make sure you eat first. We all got rooms at the inn near the ship, so if you do need anything, we aren’t far.”

“Thanks, guys,” Alice smiles, wrapping an arm around Yunho’s waist as well. “Where shall we eat?”

“I think we can get food here, let me check,” Jongho heads over to the main bar area.

“Oh,” Alice turns to Yeosang, “I was found by a fortune teller.”

“Found?” Both of them ask, surprised.

“Yeah, she came up to me and told me where to go and how to get to where I need to. I think I’m supposed to talk to a God,” Alice laughs, shaking her head. “Crazy right?”

To her surprise, neither man seems shocked.

“Our captain prays to a God, and we actually have seen the blessing in action,” Yeosang explains, staring intently at Alice, “so it’s not strange to think your God would do the same. Multiple Gods is strange, but not a totally rare theory.”

“It is rare though,” Yunho points to him.

Yeosang mutters an agreement as Jongho calls them over to the car.

All of them sit down to eat some food as the sun finally begins to sink below the horizon.  At some point, San and Wooyoung join them at their table, and the drinks start to flow. The food disappears quickly, and soon enough, the sun is gone.

Alice sighs, staring up at the now darkening sky. “I should head out if we sail out tomorrow I need to get this over with tonight.”

“Someone should go with you,” Jongho declares immediately, “it’s dark out there, and if you travel far, there are no houses.”

“She doesn’t need anyone to look after her,” everyone turns to the table near to there’s where the main three sit. Seonghwa looks at them, frowning as he drinks more from his cup. Both Hongjoong and Mingi seems a little surprised at this, even uneasy as Seonghwa looks to Hongjoong, “right captain?”

“Oh uh,” Hongjoong looks down at the notebook that sits in front of him for a second before almost reluctantly nodding, “yes, right, Seonghwa.”

“But,”

“It’s fine,” Alice rests a hand on Yunho’s shoulder, smiling. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be back on the ship before sunrise I promise,” standing up, Alice continues to smile as she waves. “I’ll be off then.”

“Return by sunrise, or we sail without you,” is Seonghwa’s final remark.

The crew watches her nervously rub her hands together as she steps outside and turns left, heading towards the dark part of the area. An unease fills the room, but no one says anything, and none of the other patrons seem to notice. Eventually, Seonghwa and Mingi head back to the main bar to gather up more drinks and join the table with the rest of the crew, while Hongjoong quietly slips over to Yeosang who’s standing up to leave.

“Yeosang,” he whispers, tugging his sleeve, “do me a favor and pick a crewmate, whoever, I don’t care, and go follow her. Make sure she’s alright.”

Yeosang blinks in pure shock, eyes wide as he looks at his captain. “Is our dear Hongjoong growing fond of the little stowaway?”

“No, I mean,” he rubs his face, groaning as he shakes his head, “no I’m not, I’m just concerned something may happen. It’s getting very dark, and she’s headed towards the cliffs.”

“You know you can like her, right? It’s not against the law to grow fond of someone,” he grumbles the last part under his breath as he looks down at his feet.

“Don’t misinterpret my feelings,” there’s a bite to the words as Hongjoong points angerly at Yeosang, who simply rolls his eyes.

“I actually think you are the one doing that,” he then leans down to whisper in his ear so the rest of the crew can’t hear. “By the way, I have a little secret. Your Dragon King’s blessing? It covers her.”

Hongjoong balks, eyes growing very wide and looking innocently scared for a second before he scoffs. “That’s impossible, I’d have to consider her family then.”

“Believe what you will,” he waves him off, “but I saw it first hand back on the island,” then he turns his back on him and taps San’s shoulder, motioning him to follow, leaving Hongjoong confused and struggling with his mind as he stands there.

“I’m calling in early, I think,” he finally declares as Seonghwa and Mingi rejoin. “Catch up on some rest and plans,” he explains, waving his notebook.

“Rest up,” Seonghwa pats his shoulder, and the rest bid him goodnight.

As he steps out of the bar, he glances over to the left, watching San and Yeosang talk together quietly before letting his eyes trail towards the dark road where Alice went. Something tugs at him to go, but he ignores it and turns right towards the inn and walks away.

The wind blows strong over the open cliffs, rolling in from the sea and bringing with it the salty smell of the ocean. Alice makes her way down the winding road leading out of Kinsale. She heads towards the east, walking along the road down to the coastal cliffs. Looking back at Kinsale, she sighs heavily, shoving her hands in her pockets as she pushes onward. It’s a bitter cold, the calling of winter bearing down on the island and Alice wishes she had a coat instead of just her black shirt, quietly wondering if she’ll be able to get a new one soon. After a long walk, she feels a tug in her chest, pulling her towards the cove below where the dark water churns. She’s quietly impressed that the lady was right. She stops walking. Pausing, Alice looks for a secondary path. It takes a second to spot it, hidden by the grass just barely seen in the passing moonlight. Glancing once more across the water to Kinsale, lit up by lanterns and torches, she takes a nervous breath and begins the descent down to the sea.

Following the path down into the higher fields, she finds herself walking on a cliffside path. Being careful of her steps as rocks slip down into the water, splashing loudly in the silence, she takes her time as she walks down and down. At the end of the path, rocks stand out of the water, leading around the side of the cliff into a small cave.

“Okay,” Alice breaths out, looking around, “this feels right, but this also feels creepy,” shivering as another strong wind blows through she clicks her teeth together. “Creepy cave or freezing to death, not great options.”

Jumping forward, she takes the large stones quickly. Moss covers them, making each step a little slicker. On the last rock, before it curves inside, Alice loses her footing, catching herself quickly on the cliff wall with a heavy breath. She takes a second to steady herself before cautiously moving forward and jumping onto the cave ground.

As she walks further in, the moon breaks through the clouds above and shines down through an opening high above, illuminating the space in a faint blue hue. Blinking to adjust, Alice, scans the cave floor, noting the large flat rock jutting out of the water towards the opening, surrounded by water that gentle laps at the cave floor. It’s small, the floor she walks on wraps around behind the large rock and stops at a solid wall. Looking up through the hole, she finds the moon right above her, shining down directly on her.

“Okay, okay,” she looks around again before nodding, “I guess I go onto the big rock?” Pushing her hair back, she takes a second to gauge the distance before stepping back and launching forward. Her hands grasp the edges easily enough. She hangs for a second before hoisting herself up and swinging her legs over rolling onto her back with a groan. “I think I’m a little too tense to be doing this.”

She takes a second to just lay there, catching her breath and trying to relax her tense muscles. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath and holds it in for a second before slowly breathing out.

When she opens her eyes again and looks around, she almost creams, gasping loudly and scrambling up to her feet, crouching with wide eyes. All around her, the cave is alight with sparkling blue lights, floating up from the now crystal blue water and slowly circling her. A breeze wraps into the cave, swirling the light particles around her but just as suddenly as it comes, it’s gone, and the light collects to together in front of her, hovering just off the front of the rock near the cave entrance where the moon shines directly. Slowly, the lights shimmer brighter and then dulls into a light blue constant glow in the form of a man, like a silhouette outline hovering in the air with its hands clasped in front of it.

“Hello,” it speaks in a gentle voice, soothing and warm.

Alice crouches still, stunned into silence as she tries to process what she is seeing and trying to figure out what it is, but it’s precisely as the fortune teller had told her it would be, this is a God.

“I am Lir,” it introduces itself, but it unnerves Alice that the body doesn’t have a face and the voice seems to reverberate in her brain as well as around the cave. “I am the God of the sea and father to many sons and daughters of the sea.”

“Hi,” Alice breaths out, slowly moving to stand up straight, “so you’re a god. I’m gonna … take a minute to process this,” she takes a deep breath and then slowly sits down. “Okay, I guess I should be asking why I’m here, that’s what I think I should,” she nods to herself before looking up at Lir. “Why was I requested to return home here to meet you?”

“You’ve lost your way and need guidance,” he explains as if it’s simple, “and only your home can give it to you, my child.”

“My,” Alice blinks in surprise, “my child?”

“Yes, you are one of the daughters of the sea, one of the first few to take human form,” his head tilts as if he’s just as curious about her as she is of him, “but a daughter of mine none the less.”

“Your daughter, like your daughter-daughter?” She asks for clarification of her confusion

“No,” he laughs lightly, as if he’s smiling behind the blue glow, “a descendant of mine technically. You are a daughter of the sea, and all Irish born daughters of the sea are my children. Most are mermaids, but you are a rare human daughter.”

Letting out a hot breath, Alice runs a hand over her forehead and through her hair as she licks her lips. “This is a complex and confusing situation. Gods, mermaids, sea children,” she drops her arm and looks at Lir, “that’s a lot to take in.”

“It is, but I feel you’ll find it easier to accept it rather than to understand it,” he then swings his head to look around the cave, turning towards the entrance as if expecting someone to walk in. “I notice you are here alone, I was expecting company to come with you.”

“The crew I sail with refused – well their Captain and quartermaster refused to let anyone join me,” she explains bitterly, scowling. “I was told to go alone and return by sunrise, or they set sail without me. Their captain hasn’t taken kindly to me.”

“That’s …” Lir sighs, dropping his head for a second before shaking it slowly, “unfortunate. I wished you and the crew would be better acquainted by the time you reached me.”

Alice blinks in surprise, eyes widening. “You knew I was coming with them?”

“I am a god after all,” he chuckles as he focuses on her again, “and the sea is my domain, so yes, I know everything. Especially when it comes to the children of the sea.”

“Are there others?” Alice asks, curiosity getting the better of her as she places her elbows on her knees, “Children of the sea, I mean.”

Lir’s head nods. “A decent few, a lot more that are not necessarily human more mer-type, but a decent few that are humans like you and your soulmate.”

“Woah woah, back up,” she holds her hands up and closes her eyes for a second, “soulmate? Like, person I’m destined to be with soulmate? Romantic partner for life? The one I will give my heart to type soulmate?”

“Ah,” Lir seems to realize this isn’t common knowledge and explains further, “you are one of the daughters of the sea, and as a daughter of the sea you will marry a son of the sea” is his simple explanation, and something in Alice feels like it makes enough sense.

“Supernatural being with a destined soulmate,” she gives a nod, “I’m talking to a god so I think I can understand that’s very possible.”

Lir continues on further explain, “your destined soulmate isn’t a son from our culture though, he was born from different gods, still a son of the sea but from a whole other culture. Your paths are linked by the sea and the sea will continue to bring you together, no matter how much you’ve been told to avoid him or how much he feels he shouldn’t be in love with you,” then Lir’s voice lifts up, as if he’s grinning like he knows a secret. Which he then proceeds to share, “You two sail together now. You and your soulmate have already spent quite a bit of time bonding even if it doesn’t seem that you’ve bonded.”

“Are you suggesting my destined soulmate is a member of ATEEZ?” For some reason, she stutters over this phrase, brain halting and jerking as it tries to process this information. Images of all the crew members flicker through her head at rapid speed as she tries t picture one fo them in any kind of romantic aspect.

“I cannot give you all the answers,” Lir clarifies, “but I can give you some. I won’t tell you who he is, but once you know and realize the kinship of being a son and daughter of the sea, the romantic bond forms quickly.”

“Okay,” Alice, let’s out a little crazed laugh as she drops her head into her hands. She takes a second more to process the information and let it sink in before she closes her eyes and groans. “Alright, okay, then soulmates aside. Let me ask what I truly came here for,” she lifts her head with a deep breath, looking at Lir as she asks quietly. “If I am a daughter of the sea, my powers would be my navigation skills, my ability to sense storms and danger while on the sea, and how easily I can find my way amidst places I’ve never sailed, correct?”

Lir shows pride as his colors pulse brighter for a second, and he says, “exactly. Alongside your powers, each child of the sea has a physical appearance piece that showcases their heritage. Some don’t always gain their physical traits at birth like you, but rather through trial and hardship.”

“My eyes,” Alice nods her head, understanding that easily, “they are always described as the ocean itself.”

“Exactly,” Lir continues to sound proud of her quick mind, “as for your soulmate, his isn’t given yet. I fear his will come in trying times, but it will solidify just who he is when you see it.”

“Okay. I have the powers and I have the physical traits, so then why have I been plagued with bad luck any time I step on a ship? Ships sink because of me, how is that correct if the sea is my home?” She further inquiries with bated breath as she’s unsure if she even wants this answer.

“Those who do not appreciate and respect their gifts have them taken away from them.” Is Lir’s answer, puzzling her further.

“But I thought I had,” Alice mutters, looking down at her hands. “I thought I appreciated my gifts using my gifts.”

“Using your gifts is different than appreciating them,” Lir says in an even more soothing voice that immediately calms the uprising confusion in Alice’s brain. “You need to understand how to use your gifts to save people, to give back to the world. Give life, and you shall get life. Plus, you fear your gift. You stopped sailing out of fear, you never overcame the terrors of the sea when you were eighteen.”

Images and nightmares flash through Alice’s brain, making her shiver. That voyage has plagued her, and she knows that he’s not wrong.

“That voyage was your first failure, and you never truly moved past it. It’s why you’re so hesitant to offer help, and you don’t actually use your gift on the sea as much as you should,” he further explains. “You’ve forgotten your home, so bad luck has followed you for that. You left here when you were a girl, but you are a woman now, and you’ve yet to even think of returning home. You’re the first daughter to completely run away, I’m not pleased by this.”

“I love Ireland, I’ve just been afraid that it’s too close …” her hands clench into fists, knuckles turning white as she tries to control her now racing heart, “to him.”

“While that is fair, your father won’t ever stop looking for you, so there isn’t really any use in hiding from him,” it’s meant to be reassuring, Alice is quite sure of that, but still feels like a harsh reality she doesn’t want to hear.

“I just,” she sighs, leaning her head back as she looks up at the moon, “I just want to know how to get rid of this bad luck. It’s causing me and the crew and my former crew and anyone who knows me so much havoc and harm, I want it gone.”

Lir hums gently, “I understand your concerns, but it’s not time quite yet.”

Alice drops her head forward and feels an even larger weight drop onto her shoulder as she raises a shaking hand to cover her mouth, silently cursing in her head.

“When you meet my son, the tides will change,” Lir continues, “you will change. You will do something remarkable, and you will be forever changed inside, outside, and in the eyes of the ones around you. Until then,” the lights begin to break off into shimmering particles again, slowly spreading out from Lir’s feet to swirl around her again, “there is nothing to be done. The bad luck will be lifted soon, so do not worry my daughter, it will all work soon.”

A strong wind whips around the cave, and Lir’s image breaks into a thousand blue, glowing stars. They spin around the rock formation before slowly sinking back into the water as the moon passes over the cave opening above, disappearing as the cave is plunged into soft darkness. The wind howls once more before sweeping out of the cave and back into the ocean. The sudden silence is defending as Alice looks around to see if there’s anything else out of the ordinary happening.

When nothing happens, and only the sounds of the ocean softly lapping at the cave floor can be heard, she slowly shuffles to her feet, the sound of rocks shifting under her sounding loud. She takes her time jumping back from the rock and slowly climbing her way out of the cave, across the rocks, and back up the cliff.

It’s as she’s ascending the grassy hillside towards the road that she hears voices.

“Are you sure he went this way?” Alice identifies San’s voice easily, the teasing tone of his voice is evident.

It’s Yeosang’s slow, soft vocals that respond, snapping lightly, “I’m sure the weird fortune teller lady said he went this way. I’m just unsure how far we have to go.”

“He hasn’t been gone long,” San remarks, “he couldn’t have gotten far.”

Yeosang sighs, “did he even know where he was supposed to meet this supposed God? He could be anywhere.”

Alice smiles, a warm fluttering feeling taking root in her gut as she trudges up the small path to the road.

“Ah!” San calls, jumping and pointing to where Alice emerges from the side road.

Looking over, Alice fans Yeosang’s relieved face as he turns to face her, holding a lantern in one hand that illuminate the road around them. San grins wide and full of joy as he skips up to her and wraps her in a hug.

“What were you doing on a cliff?” Yeosang inquires, nervously, as he walks up to her.

“Cave,” she corrects, trying to fight the smile working its way onto her face, “a cliff that leads to a cave where I met a God. I actually met a God,” it’s at that moment that the information seems to suddenly sink in as her eyes shoot open. “I met a God.”

Chuckling, Yeosang reaches past Sn to ruffle her hair as he mutters, “wonders never cease.”

“Okay but, God aside for a second,” she manages to get San to let go of her and looks at them quizzically, “why are you here?”

That makes San get this mischievous smirk on his face as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close as if to tell her the best secret around.

“Our dear captain,” he starts as Yeosang mutters something under his breath, “has a soft spot for you. I know, I know, when you left he was all with Seonghwa, but after you left, he pulled Yeosang aside – knowing you two are close – and asked him to go find you. He’s worried and wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Eyeing San, Alice squints, “that sounds fake.”

“It’s sadly not,” Yeosang huffs, “and I feel I should’ve picked someone else who wouldn’t tease our captain, but my only other good secret keeper is Wooyoung, and you and him are practically almost the same person.”

“Which I plan on telling him,” San smiles, “I tell him everything so no matter what we both now know our captain is taking a shine to Alex here.”

“Seriously,” Alice looks to Yeosang, “that really sounds fake. Him, caring about my well being? Hah!” She rolls her eyes and steps out form San’s grasp. “I’ll believe it when I see it in action, come on, let’s head back.”

Without waiting for the other two, she starts walking. The pair behind her share frustrated and exasperated looks before hurrying to catch up with her. They drop the topic of Hongjoong and instead inquire about her encounter with the God. So, naturally, she declares that they’ll think her crazy, but she, in the end, tells them about Lir. She spills the main bits of the story, the daughter of the sea, the curse, the son, and all those bits, but she keeps the story of soulmates and romance and one of them being her soulmate out of the story. In the end, she has to take time to process that information in her own time.

Once she finishes her story, the other two take a minute to process the information. The town is just ahead of them, the moon is beginning its downward descent of the evening, meaning it’s past midnight already.

San is the first to speak, glancing at her from where he walks on her left. “So, you still have the curse, correct?”

“Yes,” she confirms.

“Something big is coming, isn’t it?” Is Yeosang’s question, but he keeps his eyes straight ahead on the road when Alice turns to him.

“I think so,” she sighs, “obviously, I think his son he talks about is another God, but I don’t know who’s the son of Lir. The reason I think it’s a God and not a supernatural creature or human is that he didn’t say one of my sons like he called me one of his daughters.”

Yeosang nods in agreeance San hums.

“I can, before we leave,” Yeosang thinks aloud, “look for old books here, see what I can find.”

“I would, greatly appreciate it,” she smiles up at him. “Until then, let’s go back and get some sleep, I’ll head to my room on the ship and sleep off this weird experience.”

The walk back to the docks is not too much longer. The lanterns still light the streets, dimming from their extended use but shining none the less. Allice bids the pair goodnight from the boarding plank as she heads onto the ship. They watch her for a couple minutes more until they’re sure that she’s gone to her room safely. They then turn and make their way down the street to the inn, running thankfully into Seonghwa who is heading inside as well. Yeosang calls his name and rushes up to him.

“Do you know which room Hongjoong’s in?” He asks quietly as to not disturb the silence of the night.

Seonghwa hums and jerks his head up as he shoves hands in his pockets. “Upstairs, third room on the left.”

“Okay, you two go sleep,” he states as he heads for the stairs, “don’t need you two tired when we reach London.”

“Yes doctor,” San says in a teasing voice as he links arms with Seonghwa and walks to their rooms down the hall.

As soon as Yeosang reaches the designated room and gently knocks, Hongjoong’s voice calls for him to come in. When he looks up from his place on his bed to see Yeosang, he perks up.

“She made it back safe,” are the first words he says, quickly reassuring him that she’s okay. “She did literally met a God.”

“Interesting,” Hongjoong gentle sets the pencil he was holding down, resting his elbows on his knees as he rests his chin on them. “Different than mine?”

“She said his name was Lir,” Yeosang walks over to him, tilting his head.

“Very interesting,” he takes a second more before looking at Yeosang, “is her curse cured, though?”

Yeosang hesitates on this. He could tell Hongjoong that it isn’t and worry him and make him distrust her more or he could lie flat out. The third option of not telling the whole truth is what he opts for instead.

“It’s in the process of being cured,” he explains softly, “and she’s still pretty freaked out about it, I think.”

Hongjoong sighs, heavily. “Hopefully, hopefully, this all comes to a good ending. I’d hate for anything bad to happen to any of us. Thank you Yeosang,” he leans back, dropping onto his back with another sigh, “you may go sleep, we’ll handle everything when the time comes. We’ll sail in the morning. Get some sleep.”

“You too captain,” Yeosang nods and turns to the door. Then he stops pauses and turns back around. “Formalities aside Hongjoong, she’s really a good person, and I know you know that. You and her would get along great. Just don’t,” he twists his hands into fists as he stares at him, “don’t force her away. I honestly think she’ll be a great addition to family and crew,” he waits for a second or two more for Hongjoong to give any notion of response. When he gets nothing, he nods once and turns around again. “Goodnight captain, rest up and sleep well.”

An unsteady sigh leaves Hongjoong once he’s alone in his room. He stares at the ceiling for a minute longer before groaning in frustration, running his hands down his face and closing his eyes. His mind runs in circles, trying to figure out why suddenly over this journey Alice seems less of a threat and less of an issue; trying to figure out how to get it to stop if he can. The trains of thought go nowhere though, and he eventually shows his notebook off the bed and curls up under the sheets, hoping to sleep his worries and confusion away.


	16. Chapter Thirteen: London

* * *

 

“Raise the anchor!”

Seonghwa’s call fills the chilly morning air as the crew mills around the ship, setting up to sail out. The Spanish sails are taken down, and new, fresh white sails are secured in place. The crew cleans up any pirate looking equipment, preparing to go straight into pure British soldier waters. In the center of the ship, three rowboats have been stacked, purchased from a kind old Irish man by Hongjoong, a precautionary measure if anything happens to the ship or crew. Seonghwa watches the crew from the helm next to the wheel, scanning over all the activity with sharp eyes, counting the crew and marking which ones have returned from their stays when he notices that one of the main crew is still missing.

Looking around, Seonghwa makes his way down the stairs, moving through the crew members over to Yeosang’s quarters. The door is open, Alice being inside sifting through supplies and double-checking the inventory, but she’s alone, so Seonghwa turns back to the main deck and calls out, “does anyone know where Yeosang is?”

Wooyoung looks up at him from his spot by the above deck cannons, where he’s helping the crew roll them underdeck to hide from sight. “I believe he went shopping,” he explains, pausing to push his hair back before returning to pushing the cannon at his feet.

“Shopping?” Seonghwa gives a dry laugh and groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he walks back towards the helm.

“I’m sure he’ll be back before we’re ready to sail,” San reassures as he passes by him on his way to tie down the sails, giving him a quick shoulder clap.

Before Seonghwa can even begin to grumble under his breath, a crew member calls that he sees the man in question.

Turning his gaze to the docks, Yeosang comes around the corner of the town. In his arms is a box stacked full of books. He’s moving as quickly as he can without dropping any. Seonghwa stops at the plank and waits as the navigator makes his way to the docks. He walks up onto the ship, stopping next to Seonghwa.

“Sorry,” he huffs out, flashing a smile. “I had some things I was looking to buy and look into,” is his explanation, holding up the box slightly.

“I see,” Seonghwa crosses an arm over his chest and picks at the books. “I’m sure you know captain will want a full list inventory and possibly take some for his collection, correct?”

Yeosang nods, “I’ll have it for him before the night is up.”

“Good,” Seonghwa nods, crossing his other arm over his chest, “go set up, we’ll set off soon.”

With the dismissal given, Yeosang hurries over to his room. Carefully and slowly, he places the box onto the desk with another huff of breath.

Alice, having watched the exchange from the room, cautiously walks up to Yeosang and eyes the books, skeptically.

“I think you raided a book shop,” she jests, looking past his shoulder at the box as one book finally slips off the precarious stack and falls to the floor with a dull thud.

Chuckling, Yeosang wipes his brow and picks up the book before turning to her, leaning one hand on the desk. “I think I did, but I got what I was looking for. Irish history, Irish mythology, Irish folk stories, Irish gods, gods in general, anything that might help us figure this out,” he pats the stack with a full, brilliant grin, “right here. I promise you, by the time we sail into London or out of London, we should have an answer for who the son of Lir is.”

Alice bites her lips, hands twitching at her sides as a wave of emotions, good and bad, fall over her.

“Thank you,” she whispers out, reaching forward to gently look through the books.

“The others want to know,” Yeosang shifts the conversation, still looking at Alice though, “about the encounter. By others I mean,”

“Yunho, Wooyoung, and Jongho?” Alice cuts in, grinning.

Laughing, he pats her shoulder, “yeah those three, I think San kind of filled them in, but they want to hear it from you. First thing first,” he holds up a finger and takes the book from her hands, “finish inventory and helping Wooyoung below deck.”

Groaning in annoyance, she nods her head.

“Go,” he waves his finger, motions her to the door.

She groans once more, just for dramatics, and picks up the small notepad with supplies listed before sweeping out the door.

By mid-day the ship is all put together, looking like an innocent trading vessel and ready to set sail. Despite their need for disguise, they still have their black clothes and Hongjoong’s red coat, but the captain is hoping that this far up north they will be less known and it won’t be an issue. Soon enough, the sails are unfurled, and the wind begins to move the ship.

As they maneuver through the small bay, steering back towards the entrance and open sea, Alice stands at the rails near Yeosang’s quarters, leaning on the rails as the green fields pass her by. Letting her eyes sweep across the land, she finds the old woman from the day before, sitting on a bench near the edge of town, just watching them. When she seems to notice Alice looking, she lifts a hand and waves at her, grinning. A shiver runs down Alice’s spine as she hesitantly waves back.

“It’ll only be a few of days to London, mates,” Seonghwa informs the crew, moving up to stand by Mingi. “Won’t be long before we’re home free.”

The crew cheers excitedly.

Turning away from the crew, Alice watches the land pass them by as they slowly sail back to the ocean. The ship sails a reasonable distance from either cliffside, but Alice can easily spot the cliff she climbed down, seeing as the cave has a slight blue shimmer to it. No one seems to notice but her, and it almost feels like a sendoff, bringing a smile to her face as she watches the shimmering lights dance around the dark cave.

With the sun shining high in the sky, the wind blowing in their favor, and seas relatively calm, they breach the ocean and turn for Britain.

A hand on her shoulder pulls Alice from her sigh seeing, looking up to find San leaning next to her.

“We all set and organized?” Alice asks, shifting her weight to one leg so she can face him.

“Yep,” he nods his head, pushing his bangs back, “and now the boys want to hear your story.”

“To the galley it is,” Alice smiles, pushing herself back, holding on the rail before pulling herself forward again and pushing off with a spin.

The ship sails smoothly through the waves as the crew gathers around the galley. Alice and San are greeted by Yunho and Jongho first, then Wooyoung and Yeosang join them. After Yunho passes around food for them to eat and drinks, they settle in and encourage her to speak and tell the tale of meeting a god. Taking a minute to collect herself, she eats her food and motions for the others to eat as well, all the while nitpicking which parts to tell and which parts to keep in, the soulmate part she definitely as well as the small mention of her father, something she still wants to keep close to her belt.

When the food is gone, Alice finally relents her story. Taking her time to go over the details of why she was cursed and how to fix it, even informing them that Yeosang is sifting through books he purchased. Explaining that he’s looking for anything on the son of Lir or something close to the son of the god of the sea in Irish culture.

The boys take a minute or two to process all the information, sitting in silence as they drink and think.

“I once heard a theory,” Yeosang starts, taking a quick sip before setting his mug down, “something like a multi god theory. It was backwoods, hush-hush kind of theory that if the Christian’s heard they’d kill you for.”

Tilting her head, Alice looks at him. “You bring this up because?”

“Our captain has met a god as well, but it’s a god from his own culture while you have met a god from your culture, but both rule over the same thing,” he pauses for a second, eyes shifting up as he thinks quietly to himself to make sure he’s correct. Then he drops his head and continues, “yeah, they’re both gods that rule over the sea and the ocean.”

“Ah!” Wooyoung pipes up, leaning his elbows on the table while clasping his hands together. “Multiple gods in the same field of ownership, that’s kind of cool though. I’m definitely gonna need time to process gods, but it’s still cool.”

The crew laughs and agrees with him.

“Okay, but I want to know something,” Alice pipes up again, “why are we going to London? I know, Seonghwa seems to think I don’t need to know, but come on,” she urges with a smile.

“Family business,” Yeosang supplies before anyone can stop him, “we’ve been giving the secret stronghold location to all our family members so they can come to join us.”

“Dude,” Jongho breaths out, shaking his head as he takes a long drink.

Chuckling, San pats Yeosang’s shoulder. “If Seonghwa were here, he’d shoot you.”

“Good thing he’s not then,” Yeosang sasses, glaring at San, “besides we all consider him a crew member, might as well tell him.”

“I mean, I agree with that,” Yunho chimes in, “he is a crew member even if our top three won’t admit it.”

At that, San and Wooyoung share a look. A look where at least a thousand words pass between them, a secret shared by them. Then, they break down into fits of laughter. Rolling his eyes, Yeosang takes another long sip of his drink. The pair beside him continue to cackle in laughter, causing nervous energy in the rest.

“Um,” Jongho slowly raises a hand, “I’m sorry but, is there something we’re missing?”

“sadly,” Yeosang grumbles into his cup, still drinking.

It dawns on Alice then what the pair may be laughing so hard about. It causes something to flutter in her stomach, but she ignores the feeling and opts to explain instead of the two who can’t seem to catch their breath.

“According to Yeosang, your captain, Hongjoong, sent him to find me and check up on me when I went to meet Lir,” she explains simply, waving her hand. “In his, San’s, and of course because San told him, Wooyoung’s mind, they see this as Hongjoong having a soft spot for me.”

“He does!” San exclaims, whirling on her. “If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have sent Yeosang after you.”

Alice scoffs, shaking her head and crossing her arms.

“Wait, wait,” Yunho waves his hands, “you’re telling me, that our captain, our captain who almost killed him without a hesitant thought, is actually starting to care for him.”

“You don’t have to remind me of that,” Alice mutters, reaching forward to take her alcohol and actually drink it.

“Sorry,” he grimaces, “but seriously, that Hongjoong?”

“Yep,” Yeosang confirms with a slow nod.

“Wow,” Jongho breaths out, eyes wide, “he’s coming around, but he’s been so silent about it.”

“Of course, he has, have you seen the way Seonghwa and Mingi are?” Yeosang scoffs.

“I still don’t believe this though,” Alice groans, rubbing her face. “You going against orders and coming for me, totally believable, but him sending?” She makes a harsh scoff, rolling her eyes.

“See,” Yeosang addresses Wooyoung, who nods his head solemnly.

Glaring at them, Alice shifts in her seat. “Can we get back on track? I still want to know exactly why we’re going to London.”

There is a quiet murmur that rips through them, all the boys sharing eye contact that means they’ll continue the Hongjoong and Alice discussion later, without her. So, they let her change the topic as the tension dissolves and Yunho takes over-explaining the reason.

“We have three reasons to be in London: my brother, Gunhee, Mingi’s family, and there’s an informant that Hongjoong needs to meet with,” Yunho surmises.

“Ah,” Alice smiles, “look, I’m learning things now, I didn’t know Mingi was from London.”

Yunho opens his mouth in surprise and realization. “Oh right, none of them have told you their stories,” he turns to Yeosang, squinting. “What can we share? Obviously, Hongjoong’s story isn’t ours to tell, but the other two?”

“Should be fine,” Yeosang waves him off. “Mingi and Seonghwa both have fairly simple backstories, they’re both from fairly normal families. Mingi’s from London, a shopkeeper’s son just looking for a good way to send his family wages, so he took up the sailing life. Seonghwa though if from Boston, family originally from England, but looking to get away from bad people and looks they got. He just wanted to adventure and explore. Surprisingly, his family was totally okay with it and simply told him to visit often and that no matter what they would be waiting for him in Boston. Kinda sweet when you think about it.”

The crews agree with hums and Alice can’t help but smile. She silently wonders how someone from a good home can be so cautious and cruel to newcomers, but she doesn’t dwell on it long as her mind trails off to the only crew member she still doesn’t know.

“But,” she hesitates, biting her lip, “what about Hongjoong.”

“A bit more private,” Yeosang sighs.

San leans forward, drawing her attention. “We can say maybe just a little, but like I told you it’s his story to tell. The basis of it is that he grew up on the ocean, sailing with his father. The sea is in his blood he’s told us. He lost his dad to the British and has been on a bit of a manhunt to find the officer that killed him,” he pauses, mulling over his next thought, “I don’t want to tell too much, so I think that’s all there is to it. He’s spent a majority of his life at sea, and of course, you knew our crew origin story, so that’s already covered.”

“Why is his backstory shrouded in such mystery?” Alice groans, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

“It’s private,” Yeosang stresses, “if he tells you that means he trusts you. It’s not cut and dry, it’s complicated,” he then chuckled and tips his mug to her, “complicated like yours a bit actually.”

Before Alice can grumble any further, Yunho pats her arm, smiling as he says, “he’ll tell you when he’s ready. We all heard it at different points, just give him time.”

With that, the mood seems to shift and roll over, moving from light-hearted to a little heavy. Weariness sets in, and they decide to call it a day then. Cataloging all the new information, Alice agrees and heads down to her room after finishing her drink. That night she dreams of families, like Mingi and Seonghwa, simple families with no dark history, it’s pleasant for once in her dreams.

The next couple days pass quickly, no big issues, no big storms, eerily calm. No one pays mind to how easy it is to sail around England and begin the ascent into the river Thames; they know it’s strange, but if you acknowledge how easy a journey is, then misfortune will follow.

It’s late, sunset on the third day of their journey when they sail up to a small, barely their dock. The heart of London is further up the river, but being as discreet as possible they stay stationed further away. The ship is maneuvered to turn and face the river’s current, for a fast getaway. Once the ship is securely tied, the crew is informed of their arrival in London. The captain then comes out of his quarters, preparing to make some declarations.

“Alright, the first order of business,” he calls out, voice ringing out loud and clear over the silent crew as he climbs up to the helm, “we are here in secret. That means no running around freely, no going places there may be guards or military. We stay off the radar, got it?” He turns, looking almost directly at Wooyoung and San.

Leaning back, Wooyoung quietly mutters, “why’s he got to look at me when he says that?”

“Cause you’re bound to run off,” San chuckles, rubbing his back.

“Our outfits kind of give us away,” Hongjoong continues, looking away, “so we need to keep a very low profile. No one is to leave the ship unless authorized. For tonight, we sailed in a bit later than I thought so we’ll stay here, keep quiet and keep it dark. The only people authorized to leave the ship will be two crews. First, for Mingi’s family Yeosang, Mingi, and I will head out before dawn to inform them,” he looks to Yeosang who gives him a confirmed nod. “Then Yunho, you are to go visit your brother before dawn as well, and I want you to take Jongho with you.”

Yunho cuts him off, crossing his arms over his chest as he asks, “can I bring a third?”

Pausing, Hongjoong holds eye contact with him for a hot second before nodding his head. “Fine, one more. Who?”

“Alex,” Yunho doesn’t miss a beat, grinning like a mad man as he nudges her with his shoulder. “This was his home once upon a time, though he might want to come with. Eh?”

Put on the spot, Alice coughs, choking slightly on air as her face redden. “Uh, yeah, yes! Yes, if that’s alright,” she looks up from under her eyelashes to Hongjoong. He’s quietly drumming his fingers on the railing as he levels her with an unreadable, sharp gaze.

It’s at least a minute of tense silence before he gives an answer in a stiff nod. “That’s fine,” then he pauses a second more before ripping his eyes away and continuing his speech, “the six of us are the only ones permitted off the ship. After we deliver our messages, we’ll meet at the market to gather more supplies for the trip home. No wandering. No distractions. Got it?”

The crew gives a quiet chorus of agreeance.

“Good,” Hongjoong stands up straighter, preparing to make his way back to his room, “no lanterns, o fire, no noise. The sun’s already setting so we’ll turn in for the night, and we should be sailing for home by tomorrow.”

Turning to Yunho as the crew goes about their duties, Alice raises a brow, “is there a reason you’re taking me?”

Shrugging, he smiles at her. “Why not?”

“You’re mad,” Alice laughs, quiet and light while gently punching his arm, “so mad, come on, let’s help pull the sails in.”

It doesn’t take long for the crew to get the ship closed up and quiet. Sails pulled in, lanterns out, the window’s blocked on the riverside. To anyone passing by in the darkening river, they’d either miss the ship completely or think it abandoned.

As the sky begins to lighten, a soft blue hue at first brightening softly as the sun peaks over the horizon. The blue fades into a dim light, the world shrouded in mist as the crew is roused from their sleep. Seonghwa as quartermaster makes quick more of collecting the selected six, helping them load up in complete silence and lay the plank out for them to head ashore. Once their boots hit the dirt, the crew splits in two. Mingi, Hongjoong, and Yeosang get in a rowboat brought down by the crew, heading off to the opposite shore of the river. Yunho waves Alice and Jongho to follow him along the river’s edge heading further up.

They trek up the roads, weaving in and out of places until Yunho deems them far enough form the ship and gives them the all-clear sign with a wide smile.

“So where is your brother?” Jongho asks, voice quiet to not break the serein silence of the landscape.

Yunho hums, stuffing his hands into his pocket. “There’s a school, on the outskirts of London we attended. We had a small little place to ourselves that we were placed in to live. They really liked us, so I think they hoped for us to stay and become professors ourselves.”

Jongho makes a noise of understanding. “Go figure, they always like to train kids.”

“Right?” They chuckle together, knocking shoulders as they mile.

The mood lifts easily at that point, making Alice smile. She watches the pair silently, walking just a pace or two behind them as they quietly talk. Yunho is excited the further they walk, a small bounce to his step as he talks about Gunhee and how long it’s been. It’s the brightest smile Yunho’s ever had in the time Alice has known him, and it makes her feel lighter, happier.

When they turn the corner onto an old street, surrounded by trees and barely dotted with houses, the suns coming up to its peak. A cool breeze dances around the trio as Yunho’s pace picks up, almost skipping down the street and hurrying up the steps an old brick house. It looks abandoned if not for the small garden growing in from on the window. Before Yunho can knock on the old door, Jongho grabs his arm and pulls him back.

“Why-”

“To open,” Jongho mumbles, looking up and down the street, “let’s go around back. He has a back door, right?”

“Yeah, sorry,” he gives a sheepish smile, sinking his head down as he lets Jongho guide him back down the steps and slowly round the house.

The back is more overgrown with bushes and trees, tall grass showing it hasn’t been ever fully used. The trees stretch out behind the house, a small woodland area giving them privacy. As Yunho approaches the even older looking back door, Alice does a quick scan to make sure it’s completely private and that no one is going to see them. After a second, she gives Jongho a thumbs up and then he taps Yunho, and he knocks on the door.

There’s a moment, just a moment, where Yunho has a fleeting thought that his brother may not be here. Everyone holds their breath as they wait for some sort of response.

“Who is it?” A voice calls from inside, sounding muffled and nervous. “If it’s the military again, I swear I’m not doing anything to help you find pirates. I keep telling them this,” he trails off into a mutter, voice fading but footsteps and creaking from inside denote that he’s till by the door.

Looking back at the other two, Yunho bites his lip and shakes his leg as he nervously looks to the door.

“Knock again,” Jongho whispers, motioning for him to do so.

Taking a deep breath, Yunho raises his fist and knock again, louder this time.

Whoever is inside gives a grumbled response, something about the back door and the military again. They wait for a half-second more before a lock can be heard clicking open, then the door creaks open.

Over Yunho’s shoulder, Alice watches as a handsome young man steps into frame, long locks of dark brown hair frame his face, falling out of a tightly pulled ponytail. The man’s eyes pinch in confusion as he looks to Alice, then Jongho, and then his eyes land on Yunho, who seems to have shrunk back slightly, unsure. Then, the man’s eyes light up and realization dawns as he throws the door open.

“Yunho!

“Gunhee!”

The pair launch at each other, embracing each other in a tight hug. The tension that had built lifts, Jongho smiles at Alice and stands next to her.

“How did I know you’d still be in the same place,” Yunho exclaims, pulling back to look at his brother, “gods! Look at you! All grown up, long hair, fancy looking. Wow,” he steps back to really look at him, “oh how you’ve grown.

“It’s been so long,” Gunhee laughs, a broad smile lighting up his face, “years! You’ve been gone years.”

“No, years?” Yunho laughs too. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Cheeky little,” he hits Yunho in the back of the head, still laughing. Slowly his eyes trail back to the other two, and he smiles at them, “ah, who are your friends here?”

“Ah! My crewmates here!” Yunho throws his arm over his brother, who’s just shorter enough, so it’s natural and turns him to face them. “This is Jongho, our strongest, and Alex, our newest.”

“Alex?” Gunhee wrinkles his nose, looking between Alice and Yunho.

“Yeah, Alex,” Yunho coughs, scratching his head.

Jongho and Alice share a look of concern as Alice tries to shrink back slightly.

Gunhee eyes her for a second, pointing to her as he turns to Yunho, “but she’s clearly,” Yunho groans, cutting him off effectively.

“Just,” he holds his hand up, “don’t be that guy. His name is Alex,” he stresses. “Be cool.”

“Alex, got it,” Gunhee nods, smiling again. “Well, Alex and Jongho it’s nice to meet you both.”

The pair greet him in return quickly before Yunho is moving him to look him over again.

“Ah, look at your hair,” he reaches up to play with Gunhee’s ponytail, “grown out and all.”

Swatting Yunho’s hand away, Gunhee nods along. “Yep, looking more like everyone else in this town. Making a proper man of myself, this school is. Teaching me all I need to know.”

“I seriously can’t believe you’re still here,” Yunho breaths out, “I was worried for a minute you’d have moved on.”

“Right? Thought I’d eventually get out and get a proper job,” he sighs, shaking his head, “but the school seems to want to keep me. Did a good amount of learning, though, much smarter now.”

“We could use you. We have a place,” he exclaims, grinning, bouncing on his heels, “a safe place away from Britain, away from it all.”

Gunhee seems to falter, smiling falling as he stares at his brother. “A safe space, you say.”

“Yeah,” fumbling with his pockets, Yunho pulls out a slip of paper and gently holds it out to Gunhee, “I want you to come, to join us.”

With slow hands, Gunhee takes the paper and opens it, he takes a second to look it over, the wind blowing his hair as it picks up. Scoffing gently, he shakes his head and says, “to the Caribbean? How is that safe?”

“Our captain,” Yunho smiles softly, “he’s found us a haven, a stronghold, and it’s secure, it’s safe.”

Gunhee just stares at him. The silence is deafening, despite the sudden wind howling around them. Watching the pair stare each other, Alice shiver, wrapping her arms around herself. Looking at her, Jongho steps closer, standing shoulder to shoulder as he watches Gunhee, waiting for his response.

When the silence doesn’t stop, Yunho gives a sad chuckle, reaching up to scratch his head as he steps back. “You don’t have to decide now,” Yunho smiles, sadly, “and I understand if you won’t come. We set sail tonight,” he points to the paper, “but if you don’t come, then you know where to find me.”

Gunhee still doesn’t respond, looking down at the paper again as Yunho steps back and Jongho steps forward.

“Don’t make a hasty decision,” Alice pipes up, drawing Gunhee’s attention, “I know it’s a scary world out there, but your brother just wants you to be safe.”

Smacking the paper against his palm, Gunhee smiles. “Thank you, Yunho. I promise I will think it over.

Yunho gives a noncommittal hum, with a tight smile.

“You should go,” Gunhee sighs, “as much as I want to reunite, I believe you are a still a pirate, and the navy has asked questions. Don’t need you getting caught.”

“Right,” Yunho nods, reaching out to pat his shoulder before pulling back, “uh, how do we get to the main market here.”

Gunhee steps down, waling forward till he can see the road. “Keep following this road, it leads right to the market. Can’t miss it. Now,” Gunhee turns back to Yunho, “give me one good hug before ya disappear on me again. Come here.”

There’s no hesitancy as Yunho steps into his brother’s arms, squeezing him rightly as they share hushed words. There’s a bittersweet feeling to the scene and tears can be seen at the corners of Yunho’s eyes as he pulls away, making Alice’s heartache and even Jongho has to fight back his own emotions. Neither approach the pair, they let them have their moment and instead begin to head to the road to wait for Yunho.

Looking back, placing a hand near her mouth. Alice quietly asks, “will he be okay?”

“He’s strong,” Jongho says vaguely.

Together they wait by the road for a few minutes before Yunho emerges, looking nervous and shaky. Where Alice hesitates to reach for him as he steps up, Jongho immediately puts his arm over his shoulders and pulls him into his side.

“He said he’ll think about it,” Yunho says, quietly. He leans into Jongup and motions for them to start walking.

Moving over to his other side, Alice rubs his arm as reassurance, saying without words that Gunhee will choose to join them. Yunho gives her a tight smile, sniffles once and then smiling.

“Let’s go meet captain, shall we?”


	17. Chapter Fourteen: Ropes & Chains

* * *

 

The market isn’t quite as bustling and full of people as it is in other cities. It’s less hectic and calmer, serein. Dawn has passed, and the sun is almost to its midway point, but the air is still brisk with the scent of rain lingering in the air. No rain falls, it’s more like a warning or threat of rain to come, a storm brewing on the horizon. Alice, Yunho, and Jongho wander through the market and stalls, looking over the food and trinkets for sale while idly chatting.

“How do you think it went with Mingi’s family?” Yunho asks as they turn a corner onto a lane full of fruit stalls.

Jongho answers him with a slight smile. “Probably really well, his mom always hated it here. From what he’s told me, she used to always talk about the evils of London and how horrible people are treated for being even slightly different.”

“A rare breed,” Alice remarks with a smile as she strolls over to an apple stall.

Yunho laughs, gently nudging Jongho to follow her. “Yeosang’s gonna love her. Do you think she’ll join us on the sail home or come later?”

“Later,” Jongho muses, leaning past Alice to inspect and pick through the apples. “She’s very superstitious and cautious, so I bet you she will wait.”

Before anyone can respond or even let out a laugh at the comment, a shout rings out through the market, setting their spines straight and nerves on edge.

“Over here!”

Ears perked, the three look out of the corner of their eyes as the sound of guards running catches their attention. Just as Alice can spot the red coat coming up on her exposed flank, one grabs her hair from behind, yanking her back. A sharp yelp comes out of her throat as she stumbles back into the guard.

“It’s her!” The man declares, quickly yanking her once more and wrapping an arm around her throat. “I have the girl! There are two members of ATEEZ here! Guards!”

Panic. Panic and fear consume Alice as she feels the guard holding her tighten his hold, she claws at his hand and looks wildly at Jongho and Yunho as more guards begin to appear, weaving around the stalls as the sound of their rhythmic gear clanking fills the market. Jongho and Yunho are trapped between fight or flight, hands on their hidden blades, ready to draw and begin cutting down guards, but Alice stops them.

“Go!” She shouts, kicking the man behind her without much luck as he holds her just off the ground, toes only touching. “Run before they catch you!” Her words are chocked at the end as the guard pulls again, almost cutting off her air. “Go!”

They hesitate, watching her with just as much worry and fear. The sound of the guards get louder, more shouting, guns cocking, and orders being shouted snap the boys into action.

Drawing his blade, Yunho shoves Jongho. “Go tell the crew, make sure to get Seonghwa and captain if he’s safe. Go!”

Without further hesitation, Jongho turns and runs, jumping through stalls to avoid musket bayonets and gunfire as a round of guards fire off after him. Before Yunho can so much as swing his blade, three guards descend on him and tackle him to the ground. Alice fights harder against her capture to reach for him, spilling out curses and death threats as she claws at the man holding her tighter and tighter and higher and higher.

“Don’t fight,” Yunho grounds out, gasping for breath as one guard shoves him harder into the ground and presses a knee into his spine.

“We’ve caught the girl and one of Captain Kim’s crew,” a guard calls out.

This is followed by a clipped response, “take them to the court with their captain!”

At that, all fight leaves the pair. Their eyes widen, and they look to each other. If they weren’t afraid before, they sure were now.

“Captain, Yunho breaths.

Once they stop struggling the guards are quick to rope their hands together and take their weapons. They are then led, through the market towards the courts. Onlookers flock to see the pirates captured in their own city, some spitting curses and some laughing at their demise. While they share a couple looks, for the walk they keep their heads down and follow the guards diligently without a sound.

The guards lead them through the streets and into a court building. The prison and the hanging square stand nearby, just out of sight but looming on their horizons, waiting for them.

“This way,” one guard beckons, opening a door and pushing them in roughly.

Through the doors, as they stumble through, is a small, simple courtroom. It’s meant for speedy trials, trials that are simply used to deliver a verdict and move them to the prison rather than give them a chance to talk. They both know their fate, but they aren’t prepared to see two of their other crewmates already standing in the room. The red coat of the captain, standing out in the dull room and the tall head of the first mate standing above the rest in the room.

“Captain!” Yunho exclaims, hurrying forward to where he stands, with Mingi at his side.

In front of them stands a wooden barrier and past that a high wooden set of chairs where a group of judges in all their white wig glory glare down upon them as Yunho gets pulled back by a guard. 

“Other side,” the guard spits, shoving Yunho past Hongjoong and over to Mingi’s other side.

Hongjoong’s wide eyes follow him, flickering to Alice as she’s shoved to stand next to him before locking on Yunho. “Why are you?” He growls, anger flaring up. “Why didn’t you run?”

In a small, wounded voice, Yunho states, “I couldn’t leave her.”

Looking over at Alice, Hongjoong gets ready to lash out, say something he might regret, but he’s cut off by the loud slam of a heavy book on wood.

“You will be silent!” A judge cries out.

The noise cuts instantly, a heavy tension stopping all voices and freezing the room. Hongjoong gives Alice a glare and then huffs, facing the judges with a straight spine and determined face. It’s quiet for a minute more as the judge sizes up the four before him.

“It took us quite a while to find you, Captain Kim,” the man speaks, grinning from ear to ear at his prize. “We’ve gotten quite lucky today, to catch Captain Kim right here on our own soil. You for sure have given our Navy a run for their money. The hanging tomorrow will be quite enjoyable.”

The guards all laugh in agreeance, looking merry at the idea and prospect. Mingi glares at them, a growl poised on his lips which is only stopped by Hongjoong’s hands reaching out to yank his arm.

The judge chuckles to himself, shaking his head. “Even got three of your crew mixed in this,” he sneers then, “what a poor captain you are.”

“Just two!” Alice blurts before she can silence herself. 

Pausing, the judge turns his focus to her. “Just two, you say?”

“Yes,” Alice breaths out, hands beginning to shake.

“What are you doing?” Hongjoong hisses as he rounds on her.

“Saving people,” she mutters with a shaky tone, wide eyes unfocused on anything.

Wracking her brain, Alice tries to think up of a lie, a quick lie, a good lie, a believable lie. She knows this is her fault, her bad luck once again resurfacing to end her life once and for all, but she’ll be damned if she takes three others with her. So, she thinks fast, coming up with the best lie she’s told yet.

“Just,” she licks her dry lips, glancing to Hongjoong, who is still glaring at her. Once her eyes focus back in on the world and really sees him, she looks away again. “Just Captain Kim and I, we are the only real pirates here.”

The judge looks between them, scoffing as he leans forward. “How is that so?”

“The crew of his ship,” she pauses, takes a quick breath and another glance to Hongjoong, “our ship, I mean. They aren’t crew by choice, they are crew by force. They are held under our custody.”

“Held under your custody?” Another judge repeats, laughing heartily. “That’s a new one, a fresh lie.”

“But it’s true!” Alice persists, pressing her hands into the wood before her and forcing herself to look taller.

“Witchcraft,” a guard mutters, out of the judge’s earshot, but within hers, so she latches on and repeats it.

“Witchcraft,” she grins, knowing what that one-word will do the trick.

The whole room falters, even Yunho and Mingi look at her in surprise as Hongjoong just stares her down. The wheels in Hongjoong’s head spin rapidly as he tries to piece together her plan, he tries to tap into her mind and figure out just what exactly she’s doing.

“Spells,” Alice goes on, “and witchcraft. I’ve put the crew under a spell. Captain Kim here, he threatened to kill their families.”

“Why wouldn’t they just run?” They inquire, raising a brow at her.

That’s when it clicks, Hongjoong’s head tilts back, and he opens his mouth understanding. If the crew isn’t willing pirates, there is a chance the crew can be pardoned.

“Clever,” Hongjoong grins, giving her a genuine look of pride before he turns to the judge. “Well, I mean, you’ve heard the stories, haven’t you?” His voice drops, from his higher tone to a much darker one, with something dangerous hanging on the edge of his tone.

Looking between them again, the judge slowly starts to feel uneasy. “Which stories?”

“Oh, you know, the ones everyone tells about me. That if you cross me or do something that might make me mad, well,” his face darkens and a sinister grin takes over his face. “Then that will be the last thing you ever do, and I would hunt your families down to the ends of the sea to kill them. Done it before,” he shrugs, leaning back into a relaxed stance as if it’s nothing, “wouldn’t be against doing it again.”

“With his fear and my spells, it makes the crew our little puppets,” Alice summarizes with a cheeky grin.

There’s an uneasy murmur that goes through the room at that. Hongjoong and Alice share a similar smirk.

“These two can be pardoned, correct?” Hongjoong inquires, tilting his head to Mingi and Yunho, who are simply stunned into silence at the scene before them.

One judge stands, face flushed red as he points to them. “How do we know they won’t still work for you, under her spell?”

“Ah simple really,” Alice sighs, feigning disappointment, “I admitted the spell before them. See how silent they are? They’re shocked because the spell is broken. If you acknowledge it, it breaks.”

Mingi and Yunho nod quickly, catching up to the pair next to them and agreeing, slowly shying away from Hongjoong, who gives them a reassuring, fleeting look that goes over the judge’s heads.

The judges share looks, nervous ones before leaning over to each other to converse. Alice watches with bated breath as the main judge looks to her, there’s fear in his eyes, be it for her and the captain or just one, she is unsure. They take a minute or two to deliberate before focusing on them again.

“We will pardon the two unwilling crew members,” he motions the guards to untie them, “they will need to find solid work by the end of tomorrow and residence, or they will be tired as pirates. Break the spell of your other crewmates, and we shall pardon them too. Go.”

Thanking the judges profusely as their ropes are cut, the pair share one last glance with their captain. Hongjoong gives them a solemn nod, and they return it with a reassuring one. With haste, they follow a pair of guards out of the courtroom, the doors closing loudly behind them.

“Good thinking,” Hongjoong whispers, leaning into Alice’s space, “you’re really good on your feet.”

“I know,” Alice sighs, looking to the judges, “now they can come rescue you. You have a way out.”

Humming in agreeance, he leans away again, putting a little distance between them as the judges reconvene on them.

“This makes this a little easier then. I hereby charge you two with piracy, witchcraft, murder, and attempted murder along with other sinister crimes,” he picks up a gavel and slams it down. “You will be hanged tomorrow with the other prisoners at noon. Put them in separate cells, and keep her hands bound.”

“Shouldn’t be surprised,” another judge sighs, “she is an Irish woman, they are known for that.”

“Ah right,” Alice glares them down, “because all Irish women are into witchcraft? Or any women at all for that matter? You, men.”

The judges glare at her as the guards roughly grab her, pulling her from the stand along with Hongjoong. The guards are a bit more cautious with her, rough but cautious as they stand ready to snap her shackles on once her ropes are gone. 

Just as Hongjoong’s getting his ropes switched for chains, the judge calls out to them.

“One last thing,” he hums, standing up from his seat. “It’s lovely to have you back in London Mrs. Stewart,” he grins, a dark almost evil look on his face as sarcasm drips from every word. “I’m sure your father will be happy to see you. As it happens, he just sailed in a few days ago from a naval mission hunting down you lot.”

“Stewart?” Hongjoong says the word like he’s been punched in the gut.

The mood shifts instantly. Alice’s blood runs cold as the final clicks of the shackles close and Hongjoong rounds on her. Over his shoulder, the judge grins.

“Stewart?” He repeats, in a feral growl. “Your last name is Stewart? Alice Stewart!?”

“Perfect,” the judge grins waving his hands around, “it’s a full reunion them, isn’t it Captain Kim? Her and her father and you and your father’s murderer. He’ll be happy to be rid of you both soon,” the words are ground out, a sneer on his lips with a laugh following. “Take them away.”

By this point, Hongjoong looks rabid, anger rolling off him as he stares down Alice, who shrinks in on herself as she’s pushed around by the guards. They’re forced to march out of the court and down the street to the prison. Neither uttered a word, but Alice can feel Hongjoong is waiting for them to be alone to lash out, to scream. Fear strikes her and is only dampened by the fact that they will be in separate cells.

The prison they’re led into is dark and cold, stone surrounds them as they’re moved downstairs and through long hallways, all the way past other pirates and criminals to a more secluded section. There’s a large wooden door opened for them before they’re faced with another long hallway of cells, these ones empty, void. The room is eerily quiet, dimly lit by only a few candle holders. Hongjoong is forced into the first cell by the door; Alice is guided to the cell directly next to his. Bitterly, Alice watches as his shackles are removed while hers are left on, and the cell is sealed behind her. Without a single word, the guards turn and leave. The wooden door closes with a loud thunk and click as it’s locked, leaving the pair alone in the cells.

It’s quiet for a bit. Alice stands hesitantly in the middle of her cell, looking over at Hongjoong who’s seething, breathing heavily and practically emitting smoke from his ears as he seems to get angrier and angrier the longer he thinks.

Finally, he screams, a wild and vicious scream. Alice stumbles back at the force of it, never having seen him lose his cool in this way before and her mind is filled with images of the mad look on his face as he draws a pistol on her. For a split second, she stands on that beach again with a gun barrel to her head, but this time all she can do is watch.

“Your father,” Hongjoong grits out, finally looking at her, “your god damn father is the naval officer that goes by Stewart? Your father is Jacob Stewart?!” He storms up to the barrier between their cells and roughly grabs the bars.

Not being able to find her voice, all Alice can do is nod quickly.

Growling, actually growling, Hongjoong shakes the bars before ripping his hands away and running his hands through his hair. “This is just, just, ha!” The laugh is harsh, cold, dry, and it makes Alice flinch. “Your bad luck, I thought that it would stop, but no, just by being associated with you, you have ruined my life! I’ve been hunting this man down across the sea since I was a child and now I die at his gallows because of his daughter!” Screaming again, Hongjoong kicks the bars of his cell, the noise reverberating around them harshly.

Alice finds herself walking back to the bars of the cell behind her as she tries to hold in her emotions, her fear, her sadness. The fire burning in Hongjoong’s eyes could consume her, and she’s positive if there were no barriers he might just kill her this time.

They stay like this, one pacing erratically and the other hiding on the other side, for what seems like ages.  Hours pass in the tense silence before footsteps, and guard calls can be heard. Hongjoong’s pacing slows down, eyes flicking over to the door. Keys jingle, the lock clicks, and then the door creaks open. 

“Admiral Stewart, entering,” the guard announces just as a full suited naval office sweeps in.

As soon as the name is spoken, Hongjoong freezes in place, hands poised over his head and Alice shrinks further back, sliding into the corner opposite Hongjoong’s cell.

The admiral’s boots click on the stone as he walks over to them, and on his face is painted a smug smirk.

“Well, well, well,” the admiral calls out in his deep voice, looking between the two prisoners, “I’ve finally caught you both. My daughter and the pirate king himself, captain Kim.”

“I have been searching,” Hongjoong mutters, eyes wide in pure shock as he stares down the admiral. Taking a breath, he starts again, walking to the cell bars, “I have been searching for you for ages. You killed my family.”

“Tried to kill you, didn’t seem to work, sadly,” he waves him off, dismissing Hongjoong as if he’s nothing but an annoying nat in his space. “You aren’t who I care about though; you didn’t put a black spot on my career,” he pauses, turning and pointing slowly to Alice, “she did.”

That makes Hongjoong pause, the anger and rage seem to dissipate, only to be replaced by pure confusion. It makes him look younger, his eyes softening as he looks to Alice and realizes that she’s shaking, the shackles gently rattling as she tries desperately to get as far into the corner of her cell as she can. It’s then that Hongjoong realizes, he knows nothing of Alice’s past. He knows not why she’s scared, the crew does he’s sure, but he has absolutely no idea. For a fleeting moment, he feels horrible for the ways he treated her, but he doesn’t have the time to focus on those emotions.

“Father,” her voices shake, she swallows hard and tries to look taller as she speaks again. “You and I both know, the charges you have against me,” she says slowly, nervously, “are false. I may have been only a teenager, but I didn’t forget what you did.”

He laughs, a closed mouth huff as he shakes his head and walks over to her cell. “Your word, the word of a pirate who’s claimed witchcraft over mine, an admiral of great standing,” he pulls a key from his coat pocket and quickly unlocks her cell, the clank loud in the deafening silence. “I think I’ll win that fight, but in the end, you still know too much. Best to just let your neck snap like the rest,” pushing open the cell door, he smirks again, sinister, “after I get a little payback, of course.”

Suddenly, a sharp protective fury rises up in Hongjoong. Something ancient tugs at his mind and heart, pushing him to growl out and hurry over to the bars separating him from Alice.

“Leave her alone!”

The admiral smiles, looking at him. “Of course, you care for your little pet. The captain’s good little pet,” he then turns back to Alice, “I mean, that’s all these types of women are good for.”

Giving a hysterical laugh, Alice speaks up quietly, “that’s what you always said about mom and me. I’m not a teenager anymore, though,” she doesn’t seem convinced of herself, but she forces herself to stand taller and raise her fists, “I fight back now.”

Alice knows she can’t take her father, he has at least half a foot on her in size and years of military training under his belt. All she’s got is small fiery, Irish temper and what little hand to hand combat she’s encountered in pub brawls and mutiny squabbles. One thing she knows is she’ll fight until she can’t, she isn’t weak anymore.

No more words are passed between the two family members, but Hongjoong continues to spout out curses and warnings to the admiral as he stalks up to Alice. 

It’s her that throws the first punch, aiming for his face. The admiral may be old, but he’s quick, and her hands are still bound, smoothly moving to the side and kicking Alice’s legs out from under her. Crashing hard onto the floor, she groans, crawling away and scrambling to her feet before he can stomp on her leg. Memories begin to dance in her vision, memories of watching this from behind almost closed doors. This time though, it’s her on the receiving end. 

The admiral rolls his neck, grinning still as he reaches for Alice. She manages to bat his hand away and land a hard hit on his side with both fists, but he recovers quickly and grabs her by her hair, causing her to cry out and Hongjoong to shout louder. Despite the pain, she twists around, sweeping her leg around his and pulling until he let’s go in surprise and stumbled past her. Taking advantage of the moment, Alice rushes for the cell door. Even though Hongjoong tries to call a warning from his cell as he follows her movements, the admiral is still faster and grabs her around her waist, pulling her back and throwing her into the cell wall. 

For a good minute, Alice’s vision blurs, just after her head connects with the stone. A ringing starts in her ears as she rolls over, curling in on herself as she gasps for air. Just as a she’s getting her hearing back; a hard crunch reaches her ears, and searing pain fires up her leg from her ankle. Crying out, she kicks back with her good leg, making sharp contact with the admiral’s shin and sending him stumbling backward. As she’s struggling to get back to her feet, despite the sore ankle and Hongjoong’s continued curses, the admiral lands a solid kick into her stomach, sending her back down. Crouching down, he retakes ahold of her hair, twisting her face to look at him.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the day your mother had you,” he spits, pulling his arm back and throwing a hard punch that splits her lip and sends her down onto the floor, gasping for breath.

The sound of Hongjoong cursing, sounding as if he’s swaying between languages, filters through the buzzing that coats Alice’s hearing as the admiral stands. Looking over to him, she sees that fury once again, but this time it’s worse and not even remotely directed at her.

“Can you stop your squabbling!” The admiral shouts, glaring at Hongjoong. “Your voice is irritating. It’s not like your shouting is gonna do anything,” he looks over Hongjoong, studying him for a second. “I’m not even sure why you care, if I know my daughter, I’m sure she’s left an ugly impression. So, sit down and shut up,” then he turns his focus back to Alice.

Accepting her fate, Alice gives Hongjoong one last look, silently noting the absolute rage and horror on his face before she closes her eyes and takes the rest of her punishment.

After a few more kicks to the stomach, being picked up and thrown into the wall again, and her ankle crushed under his boot once more, he deems it enough. Blood drips from her mouth as she clutches her stomach, coughing as she clenches her teeth, holding in noises of pain. The admiral kicks her one last time, rolling her across the cell floor and into the wall before sighing in content with a smile on his face.

“I feel better now,” he pushes his hair back and hums happily. “Tomorrow, the two most annoying things to ever enter my life will be gone, I look forward to your execution.”

From his cell, Hongjoong watches with tense shoulders as he flashes him a smile and steps out of Alice’s cell, locking it again.

Just as he’s about to leave, Hongjoong finally speaks up. “I will kill you,” he declares, eyes cold and dark as he watches him. “For my father and for Alice, I will kill you.”

With a scoff and a muttered, “sure kid,” the admiral sweeps back out of the room.

As sudden as the storm came, it vanishes with the heavy thunk of the door slamming shut and it leaves a tense silence behind, heavy and thick and suffocating.

Moving quickly and cautiously, Hongjoong walks over to the corner of his cell and drops to his knees. He doesn’t even feel the pain of the stone through his pants as he looks to Alice who’s pushed herself up against the wall and into the corner, right by Hongjoong without even noticing him being there. Her eyes are glazed over as she quietly sniffles, wiping the blood from her mouth with her sleeve and tears from her eyes, which seem to have escaped silently admits the fight. He notes that her hands are shaking, the shackles ratting as she blinks back tears and shuffles closer to the cell wall, curling into herself like a scared dog. Hongjoong can only watch in horror at her now beaten body as she shrinks into the wall, shaking. His still wide-eyed gaze unwavering from her form, he can’t seem to look away, and he feels scared for her. A deep-seated protectiveness, the one he’s been fighting washes over him, and he feels the need to make sure she’s okay above all else.

“Alice?” He calls quietly, boots scuffing on the ground as he moves closer to her cell, reaching his fingers through the cell bars to touch her arm.

When she sees his hand reaching for her, she flinches away, whimpering and turning her head as more tears fall.

“Hey, hey,” Hongjoong’s voice drops an octave and raises in pitch, turning soft, “it’s okay, it’s just me,” gently he places his fingers on her shoulder, barely touching her. Letting her know he’s there though, he’s with her.

Alice looks at him from the corner of her eye, still tense and shaking. 

“Now you know who my dad is,” she whispers in a cracked voice, wrapping her arms around her tender stomach, “and why I only introduced myself as Alice and Alex and Alexander, in some cases. No last names. Never any last names.”

“I’m sorry,” Hongjoong states, rubbing her shoulder. “I didn’t know, and I’m sorry for lashing out at you.”

“Of course, you didn’t know,” Alice sniffles, reaching up to rub her nose softly. “You never asked, you didn’t want to know. I’m just a bad luck spot in your crew, and it’s better this way.”

Sighing heavily, Hongjoong positions himself as close to the bars he can physically manage. Sitting right next to her with a hand still touching her, unwilling to let go of her.

“Why don’t we trade,” he offers, “a backstory for a backstory. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours. I want,” he pauses as Alice shifts, turning gently to face him. He looks at her and gives a weak smile, “I want to know you.”

Alice looks into his eyes, calculating and judging him carefully. As she examines him, he reaches up to wipe away more blood from her lips, almost subconsciously.

“Okay,” she finally breathes out, dropping her eyes, “I’ll tell you mine first.”

So, she fills him in like the rest of the crew. Though she doesn’t notice it, but some small things are told in more detail to him than the rest of the crew. She starts with her mother in Ireland, looking for work in Britain and finding her father. Then she begins the tale of her mother’s abuse, all in small details but more than the rest have heard. From there, she explains how her father was growing up, his abusive nature when he’d return form a voyage and what happened in the end when she runs away. Clarifying that the charges put on her by her father and explaining that it was him who killed her mother, and it clicks for Hongjoong then. 

The stowaway wasn’t a stowaway at all. She had been telling them the truth from the start, and the guilt inside begins to grow. She doesn’t notice this, though. She continues to tell the story of her aunt and uncle, the shipwreck of her failed voyage and explaining to him just why that voyage led to her bad luck. Which is, sadly, still plaguing her today. The rest she surmises with a quick mutter of sailing with other crews until that fateful day that she met him.

Once her story is done, Hongjoong takes a minute to process all the information. He understands her so much more now, more than even he knows.

“Alright,” he mutters, shifting, knees popping, “I understand now. I really,” he chuckles sadly, “really should’ve asked about that, a long time ago. Shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

“A captain protects his crew,” Alice defends him, coughing after she speaks.

Reaching through the bars, Hongjoong rubs her back. “A stupid captain, but I digress. The past is the past, and I am still very, very sorry for how our past started,” he sighs, hanging his head. “I do owe you a backstory though, so here goes.”

Alice leans her head on the bars, separating them, watching him closely as he begins his story.

“I was born on an island to a lone sailor, and his wife, my mother died to disease when I was a baby, and so my aunt and him took me on a ship. They weren’t pirates,” he draws the word out while tilting his head, “per se, I think they were just trading men or merchants, but not pirates. They were simply making a wage at that point. I grew up on the sea on his ship, the Treasure Hunter. Sailing was all I knew, is all I know,” he laughs with a smile that makes the tension in the room lighten. “The boy raised by the sea my aunt said, swore it would ruin me. Nothing ever really happened except bad storms, angry merchants, some bar brawls here and there, but I grew up knowing the ins and outs of the sailing world. My nickname was – is the son of the sea.”

That perks Alice’s interest, causing her to sit up a bit straighter and really look at him. Lir’s words float through her mind again, the one last secret she has: you will marry a son of the sea … you two sail together now.

“Never sure why, but,” he waves a hand around, “I’ve been called it by some rather interesting people. Now, onto how I met your father,” he hesitates, eyes glazing over, “um, one day we were stopped by a British ship. They didn’t believe us to be traders, they refused to listen to us, and so they cut down all of us,” he trails off with a hiss, face darkening. “Your father was the one to kill mine, he was just a commander then so I guess props to him for killing enough of our people to get it, rat bastard. I was,” he flicks his hair from his face as he tilts his head back, “I think twelve when it happened. Yeah, I was twelve then,” in the corners of his eyes there are barely there tears as the memories come back to him, “and I watched that man run a sword through my father three times, nor remorse, just glee. No man should be that happy to kill. In the end, he decided I wouldn’t be so lucky,” for this information, he looks directly at Alice, “he shot me in the gut and threw me off the ship. Calling me a dirty sea rat before shoving me overboard.”

“Wow,” Alice breaths, feeling like she’s been kicked in the gut again, “I mean, I knew he was insane, but wow. You were twelve?”

Hongjoong nods solemnly.

“Wow,” she sighs, leaning on the bars again and closing her eyes. “My father loves to ruin lives in his wake. Wait,” opening her eyes, she jerks back, looking him over and staring at his stomach, “if you were shot in the gut, a deadly gutshot, how are you here? That was before you became captain and everything.”

Grinning, Hongjoong explains, “this is honestly my favorite part to tell,” he then reaches into his shirt and pulls out his necklace and holds it up. “The last thing I remembered was choking on the seawater and hoping against hope that maybe I’d have a better life in the afterlife, then I see scales. Bright red, shining scales. The next thing I know, the waves are crashing over me, and I’m lying on a shore with seaweed wrapped around my wound and miraculously alive. This,” he holds the necklace before slowly taking it off, “was in my hand, and when I sat up, there were mermaids in the water, watching me.”

That makes Alice pause, holding up a hand, “wait, mermaids? Like, mythical mermaids, correct? I mean, Lir did mention them,” she trails off herself as Hongjoong smiles.

“Exactly,” he looks fondly at the trinket in his hands, “they told me that they were my family and that I was literally the son of the sea. They introduced me to my god, the Dragon King. A god of the oceans and sea, I briefly met him, you actually probably had more interaction with your god than I did.”

“You never asked about him,” Alice muses quietly.

Pausing, Hongjoong spins the pendent. “Meeting with gods are fairly private, and me and you,” he steals a glance at her, “haven’t been on the best of terms.”

“No, I guess we haven’t,” she withholds a sigh and looks down. “So, you, the son of the sea, were saved by mermaids.”

“Yep, and they gave me this good luck charm to go with my powers of natural luck. Ones that you seem to be able to counteract, don’t worry,” he holds up a hand before she can start a spiral of apologizes, “I’m not mad anymore. Tonight, I see you in a whole new light, which is why,” he turns now, fully facing her and gently grabbing her hand, pulling it through the bars as best he can. 

Alice notes how surprisingly soft his hands are, some callouses, but mostly smooth. The words’ son of the sea’ keep running through her head as she looks at him. Then she feels something cool placed in her hands, and she looks down.

“I want you to take this,” he squeezes her hand into a fist around the necklace, “for your protection. So, things like this don’t happen to you anymore.”

“You care,” the words are whispered, barely heard if not for the pure silence around them.

Hongjoong nods, “I care.”

“But,” Alice can feel a heavy weight of emotion on her chest, “you need this, if my bad luck is affecting you, you need protection still.”

“I’ll be okay,” he dismisses with a grin, “but you need protection. If this day has shown me anything, it’s that you need this. Until your bad luck is gone.”

“You never asked,” Alice points out, “about the bad luck.”

A laugh bubbles out form Hongjoong, strained and sad. “Well, I knew Yeosang would help. He’s got a soft spot for you more than anyone, well, Wooyoung maybe.”

They laugh together at that, the air finally brightening as the mood shifts. Pulling her hands back, Alice looks at the necklace, taking a minute to examine its quality of the bonze and feeling the weight. Once she’s examined it, she carefully puts it over her head and lets it hang against her chest.

“Thank you,” she finally says.

“You’re welcome,” Hongjoong sighs happily, “now we should, um, rest before tomorrow.”

Spinning the pendant between her fingers, Alice asks, “do you think the crew will come.”

Hongjoong reaches through the bars again, taking her hands in his once more. “I know they will now rest until morning.”

Without much reluctance, Alice gives in and situates herself on the cold floor to sleep. It’s surprising to her how fast her fatigue takes over and pulls her in, forcing her eyes shut and turning her mind off and letting her drift into a dreamless sleep.

From his cell, Hongjoong sits right by the bars still, eyes heavy but not ready to give in. His eyes stay locked on Alice’s sleeping form, only occasionally flicking away at the sound of movement outside the door. He knows that they’ve posted guards on them, a precautionary measure. Focusing back on Alice, he leans his head on the bars with a tired yawn on his lips. After everything revealed tonight, he can’t help but feel the pull he has towards her stronger than ever. The urge to reach out and touch her, check on her, make sure she’s okay is scary, but he’s already becoming comfortable with the feelings.

“I swear,” he whispers as sleep finally starts to grab him, “the crew and I will always make sure you’re safe.”

When the next day dawns, Hongjoong is the first to wake. Having been unable to sleep, it’s no surprise that he just lays there with his eyes closed for most of the morning until the sounds of guards reach his eyes. The sounds take only a second to register before he’s jerking up and looking at the door.

“Alice,” he calls gently before turning to her, reaching out to shake her. “Alice, wake up.”

It takes her a second to come to her bearings, neck popping angerly as she slowly moves. Whining in pain, she blinks and looks around.

“It’s time,” Hongjoong declares.

Breathing out, Alice nods her and head and pushes herself up. She takes a minute to rub the sleep from her eyes and pop her neck before turning and standing.

“Ankle!” Hongjoong jumps to his feet, looking at her ankle in question.

With a snort, Alice shakes her head. “I’ll live, I’ve gone through worse an almost broken ankle.”

There’s an air of unsaid words that pass between them when she looks to him. That fateful day of the shipwreck plays in both their minds, but neither speaks of it. 

Before Hongjoong can fret more over her ankle, the lock of the door clicks and the door is thrown open.

“Admiral Stewart, entering,” a guard calls.

This time, five other guards follow the admiral into the room. One of the five guards holds a pair of scissors, and another holds a dress. 

“Hello again,” the admiral greets, grinning broadly, “lovely day, isn’t it?”

“Not quite,” Hongjoong growls.

“Oh right,” he chuckles, “just me. Great day. There are a few things to cove before your hanging though,” he motions to the guard with scissors, “for your Captain Kim. You have no idea how many reports came through that started with “the pirate with the mullet” or “the red coat pirate.” Now, I can’t take the red coat,” he makes a gesture to the outfit he still wears, “I need people to know it’s you when you hang on display. The hair though,” he sneers, “is just ugly and annoying and I think it’s time you got it cut. Guards,” he hands over the key and leans closer to the one with scissors, “have fun, no need to make it neat.”

All Hongjoong can do is silently glare down the admiral as the guards enter his cell, forcing him to kneel before them. Two guards hold his arms to the side while the one with the scissors walks up behind him and begins to cut his hair.

“Alice,” the admiral walks up to her cell, “I’m disappointed in how you are. I feel you’re more of a man than a woman, it’s a shame. So,” he waves a hand, and the guard takes the dress and holds it up, “I got you this to wear. Don’t want you to be comfortable, after all. Better to go out of this world as you came into it.”

Her cell is unlocked, and two guards enter to unlock her chains, keeping them in their hands as the other guard throws the dress at her. She catches it swiftly, but stops and looks at the guards standing in the cell.

“What are you waiting for?” The admiral grins. “Get changed. What’s the matter? You lived on ships full of men, changing in front of them shouldn’t be an issue.”

Hongjoong bites down hard on his tongue, closing his eyes and clenching his fists to stop himself from doing something stupid. 

It takes Alice a minute more to gain composure and turn her back. As fast as she can, she strips off her pants and top, slipping the loose white dress over her head and letting it fall. The dress stops just above her knees, looking ratted and torn, defiantly not the best of material and too thin to protect from the cold of the room. She makes sure her necklace stays though, resting under the neck of the dress.

“This is rather short,” she remarks as she turns around, letting the guards place the shackles back on her wrists and take her clothes.

“Much better,” the admiral claps his hands together, “and of course it’s short, now you look like a pirate’s mistress.”

“Hey!” Hongjoong finally snaps, jerking his head up to glare at him.

“Well that’s what she is isn’t it?” He asks, rolling his eyes.

Before he can defend her, his head is shoved back down, so he bites harder on his tongue.

Once Hongjoong’s hair is officially butchered to a short cut, they tie ropes around his wrists, pulling tight enough to turn the skin red. With both of them chain, the guards pull them from their cells.

“It’s time,” the admiral sings songs, grinning wildly as he turns and marches out of the room.

The guards take positions around the pair and slowly guide them down the hall. At first, neither speak, mainly since Hongjoong walks in front of Alice, but Alice has to ask one thing.

Stepping closer to him, she whispers, “do you think they’ll come?”

“Of course,” there’s no hesitation in his voice wither, and it calms Alice a little, but not enough.

“I bet they save you first,” she tries for humor, but it comes out flat, and Hongjoong looks pained.

“Alice,” he turns his head to look at her, but she continues on.

“Why didn’t you run? When they cut your hair, you weren’t tied, and the cell was open,” she muses, looking at her feet as they continue to walk. “Three guards and an unarmed admiral? You could’ve made it.”

“And leave you?” Hongjoong looks baffled, heartbroken. “Not happening, never. Alice, I –”

“Quiet you, filthy pirates!” 

Both their lips lock, but Hongjoong gives her a look that she misses. He’s worried, but he knows for a fact that he will never leave her here. He’ll just have to prove to her that she means more now than just a mission or a bad luck spot. More determined than ever, Hongjoong closes his eyes and quietly sends a prayer to his god and crew, that they can save them.


	18. Chapter Fifteen: Escape & Sacrifice

* * *

 

The hanging yard is filled to the brim with people. Public hangings are still commonplace, but this one is different since there’s a pirate king to be hanged. As soon as word of their capture spreads, people are excited to actually see this hanging in person. The square is noisy with chatter, not a loud roar as it would be back in Port Royal or other former pirate towns. This is a more reserved type of noise, but even as reserved as it is the buzz of noise still carries through the prison windows and halls as Hongjoong and Alice are guided out to the yard. There’s a line of other prisoners waiting for their turns to climb the wooden stairs. The gallows stand tall in front of them with two nooses hanging, waiting for necks to snap. At the sight of them, Alice feels her breath stutter, and her blood run cold; the reality of the situation sinks in at that point. She doesn’t have much time to dwell on it before they’re moved to the front of the line and the announcements begin.

 “To start today’s hanging, we have two infamous pirates,” he bellows out over the crowd of onlookers, gaining some cheers in response.

 A guard roughly pushes Alice and Hongjoong forward, bayonets poking their backs as their forced up the steep wooden stairs. For a fleeting moment, Alice’s eyes meet her father’s. He sits behind the gallows, up high with the other officers and royals to watch the hangings. As soon as he smirks at her, she moves her eyes away.

While the whole crowd watches them, eyes fixed on the main point of interest. No one seems to notices the moves being made around them, the people shifting around and moving through the areas that aren’t guards. Not even Hongjoong realizes the movement as he’s too focused on Alice and Alice can’t even get her eyes to focus on anything but the noose as her whole life flashes before her eyes.

On a rooftop across the street, sits Wooyoung with a crossbow in one hand. He’s stretched out on the roof on his stomach. The gentle breeze ruffles his hair, but he doesn’t move his eyes from the scope on his crossbow. He’s entirely still, minus the fist he raises to signal he’s in position to those below.

Just across the street at the back of the hanging square crowd, Jongho raises his own fist as an answer before turning and tapping Seonghwa and Mingi’s shoulders. As they begin to make their way through the crowd towards the stage, the charges start to be called out.

“Alice Stewart and Hongjoong Kim,” the man begins, unfolding a long sheet of paper, “be it known that you have been charged and convicted for your willful commission of crimes against the crown.”

Hongjoong rolls his eyes and mutters under his breathe, “how can I betray a crown I never served?”

On the edges of the crowd, the rest of the crew fans out, swords at their hips. Yunho and San flank to the left, getting as close to the guards as the can without seeming suspicious; Yeosang and Jongho take up the other side of the crowd, staying very close to the wall and in the shadows.

“Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature. The most egregious of these to be cited herewith.”

Carefully, Seonghwa and Mingi move to the front of the crowd, blending in despite their height and stature. Mingi stands before Alice’s place as the noose is wrapped around her neck, noting painfully how scared and frail she looks in this situation; Seonghwa steps over to stand before Hongjoong as the same is done to him, not even sparing a glance at Alice. Just as Hongjoong looks away from Alice and the guards, he spots Seonghwa who gives a slow nod in reassurance.

“Piracy, murder, attempted murder royal navy officer, smuggling, impersonating an officer of the Spanish royal navy, sailing under false colors, arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, depravity, depredation, and general lawlessness. And for these crimes, you have sentenced to be hung by the neck until dead.”

 All of Alice’s breath leaves her as the words are said. She can feel the wood creak as the guards move to the lever. Breathing gets harder, and she closes her eyes, waiting for the end. Hongjoong grits his teeth, hands ringing around against the ropes as he glances frantically at Alice. If his hands weren’t bound, he’d reach out and take hers, but all he can do is growl under his breath.

“May God have mercy on your souls.”

From the corner of his eyes, Hongjoong sees Jongho raise a fist quickly into the air followed by Yeosang’s own. It’s a split second before everything stops and slows.

The sound of the lever being pulled and the ground disappearing under their feet is sudden, shocking. Alice gasps for breath as she drops. In the next split second, two whizzing sounds catch the edge of her hearing, and instead of feeling her neck snap, she keeps dropping and screams. Mingi rushes forward, catching her around the waist and pulling her down to her feet safely.

“What?” Is the only word she can utter before all hell breaks loose.

The guards shout and draw swords. The crowd screams as the rest of the crew draws their swords and rush the gallows to surround the four as Seonghwa quickly pulls Hongjoong’s hands free, and Mingi helps Alice get her bearings.

“Pirates!” Someone screams, causing the crowd to scream more and rush out, storming away from the scene as the guards descend onto the crew. To the crew’s surprise, the other prisoners jump in as well to help, fending off the guards and taking their muskets before they can fire.

“Hurry,” Mingi tug on Alice’s chains, “shit. I can’t get you out of theses,” he groans, looking them over before shaking his head, “we just need to move.”

Beside them, Hongjoong rushes over and grabs Alice’s hands. “Give me a knife,” he demands, holding open a hand, “quickly!”

Fishing around in his pockets for a second, Mingi pulls a small dagger and hands it over. Taking the dagger, Hongjoong mutters a quiet “stay still” to Alice before sticking the knife into the shackles, twisting it until he gets enough leverage for them to break award. He does this to both her wrists before tossing them on the ground. Mingi watches in happy surprise while Seonghwa stares on with a blank, unimpressed look.

The ruckus around them grows in volume, gunshots finally being shot off, both at guards and prisoners. As the crew valiantly defends the main four of their plan, the guards are still sometimes better than expected. Yunho takes a rifle but to the gut with gritted teeth, and then quickly slices one down with his sword.

“They need to move,” he grunts to San, “quickly.”

Just as another guard comes up on them, getting ready to slice them, someone shoves the guard over and with quick hands slices his neck. San and Yunho share a surprised look with each other.

The man lifts his head, flicking his hair over his shoulder with a wide grin. “Thought you might need the help.”

“Gunhee,” Yunho breaths in shock, but he quickly collects himself as the sound of battling is still ever-present around them. “Yes! God yes! Join the line,” he waves him in, placing him between himself and San. “Thank you.”

“Anything for my brother,” Gunhee grins.

Yunho then leans over back to San and jerks his head at the group behind them. “Get them moving.”

Turning to them, San gives Seonghwa a sharp look that kicks him into gear.

“Follow me,” Seonghwa waves, tone flat as he looks away and makes his way towards the exit. “Wooyoung has us covered from above, and the crew will keep them busy here while we escape.”

“We have to get across the bridge,” Mingi further explains, joining Seonghwa in front of Hongjoong and Alice. “Down by the river is a boat, we’ll use it to get back to the Desire. 

“What about the crew?” Hongjoong asks, quacking his pace as he takes Alice’s hand.

A jolt runs up Alice’s hand from where Hongjoong grabs it, causing her to jump a little in surprise. Her nerves are still frayed from the near-death experience, but she gladly squeezes Hongjoong’s hand and skips up to keep pace with him. He squeezes her hand back as he listens to Seonghwa.

“Smoke bombs, they’ll use them to get away, but we need to,” he stumbles on his words as the sound of marching boots comes around the corner. “Shit, no time to explain, just run.”

At that, all four take off into a back alley, Mingi takes the lead with Seonghwa right behind him. Hongjoong never let’s go of Alice’s hand as they run together. Above them, Wooyoung launches up from his spot and runs with them, jumping from roof to roof to keep up while looking out for guards. They twist and turn through the London streets, scaring pedestrians and horses alike as they rush across busy streets to get to the river 

“Thames street!” Mingi declares, shouting loud enough for Wooyoung to hear. “The bridge is this way, quickly! 

Instead of following them though, Wooyoung skids to a stop on the roof and plants his feet. Taking aim, he loads his crossbow as fast as he can and starts shooting down the guards that come around the corner after them.

Alice steals a glance behind them, to try and spot Wooyoung, but Hongjoong tugs her hand as guards start to fill the streets.

“Faster!”

They make it to the bridge in record time, sprinting and ducking past guards and regular people alike. Despite their best efforts, the guards are quick to catch up to them.

“To the water’s edge!” Seonghwa calls, swinging around the end of the bridge, down onto the rocky dirt river bank with Mingi hot on his heels.

The winter season is bearing down on the city, so the water levels are low enough that the rocky banks are easier to run on and give them a straight shoot path to their destination.

Maneuvering around a couple of guards, Hongjoong let’s go of Alice’s hand long enough to shove them away before reaching out for her again and pulling her down to the bank. He holds her waist to steady her, but then looks behind her as the guards call out, “take aim,” and then he grabs her hand and yanks her forward and behind himself.

“Run!” A familiar voice shouts to them, followed by an arrow going through a guard’s side, knocking him over.

Wooyoung bursts out from behind the line of guards, knocking all of their aims off. Their musket shots ring out, but not a single one hits Hongjoong or Alice, despite that, Hongjoong reflexively shields Alice with an arm as he ducks his head. When he doesn’t feel any impact, he looks up to Wooyoung running up to them.

“Run, damnit!” He shouts, spinning around as he notches another arrow.

Nodding, Hongjoong turns to Alice and grabs her shoulder to get her moving. She spares one last glance at Wooyoung, before running with him.

The guards follow, hot on their heels as the five of them run for their lives. Across the river, the rest of the crew has thrown down their smoke bombs and made their escape, running through the streets and over the city walls to get back to the Desire 

Running slightly ahead of Alice to catch up with Seonghwa, Hongjoong takes this time to ask some questions. “Where’s my ship?”

“Other side of the river,” Seonghwa declares, panting lightly. “Had to move her closer to get to you guys.”

“Then how are we getting there with these –” he’s cut off by a round of musket fire, one ball whizzing past his head. Stumbling to the side, he glances back to see Wooyoung and Alice have veered sideways to avoid the shots, but Wooyoung has a hold of her arm, and Hongjoong deems them safe.

Knowing where Hongjoong had been going, Mingi picks up the plan and explains that, “we have a longboat waiting, just over, here!”

A small dock section rises up before them, the wood looking rickety but sturdy enough. They all scramble up, trying to ignore the sound of the guards gaining on them and pedestrians in the home just above the river bank screaming. At the end of the dock is a small stream of water running inland with a longboat waiting for them. Some people are mingling around the pier, but when they spot them and the guard following, they scream and run away. Mingi and Hongjoong reach the boat first. Mingi unties it quickly but keeps a hold of the rope as he turns back.

Just as Wooyoung turns to help Alice up to the docks, the guards finally catch up.

Alice’s scream pierces the air around them. She’s ripped away from Wooyoung with such force that she crashes into the rough ground, rolling twice over as rocks cut and dig into her skin. Wooyoung sees red for a good second before he’s screaming and launching at the guard, wrapping his arms around his middle section as he tackles him to the ground; he quickly sits atop the guard and starts throwing punches, causing the rest of the crew to focus in on the commotion.

“Go!” Seonghwa calls back, stepping in front of Hongjoong as he tries to run to their aid.

“What?” He glares down Seonghwa’s back. “We need to get them before we run!”

“We have a Plan B,” Mingi reassures, gripping his arm and hauling him back, “and a plan C for that matter, but don’t worry, we’ll get them. Come on,” he tugs harder, “we have to go.”

Seonghwa gives no room for protest as he steps forward, drawing a dagger and crouching down, ready to strike the first guard that comes near him.

It takes a bit more struggling before Mingi draws Hongjoong into the longboat. Once he’s seated, all he can do is stay there as Mingi tosses the rope in the boat and pushes them off. They each grab an ore and begin rowing together, away from the fight 

“There’s getting away!” A guard hollers as he pulls himself up to the dock, but he’s met by Seonghwa’s blade, which easily slices open his throat.

Smirking, Seonghwa spins the blade as the other guards catch their comrade. “I’m usually better with my cutlass, but I think this will do. Who’s next?”

More guards arrive by this point, some taking point and kneeling on the river bank to shoot out into the river after the boat. Seonghwa keeps swinging his dagger as the guards surround him. Wooyoung gets pulled off the guard he’s thoroughly pummeled, a wild look on his face as the guards hold him back. Alice, still in a daze, is pulled to her feet by another guard. She’s effectively out for the count as she reaches up to touch her head and sways on her feet. Spitting curses, Wooyoung kicks out and fights violently with the guards.

The sound of hooves on the gravel reaches them, a horse rounds the corner, galloping down the bank of the river. Atop the tall black horse is the admiral himself, face stone cold and harsh. When Alice looks up and realizes it’s him, she physically curls in on herself. 

“Make sure all their hands are bound!” The admiral declares as he reaches them, his horse flicking its head irritably as if mirroring his emotions. “And stop firing after them, let them go for now.”

The guards follow the orders and pass around the rope, quickly binding Wooyoung’s and Alice’s hands as the other’s try to grab Seonghwa. It takes them a minute or two more and a few of their comrade’s lives before they collectively knock him down and tie him up. The admiral watches from his horse as their all roped up together, placed on the rough ground, sitting back to back to back. 

Carefully walking up to them, the admiral smiles down at Alice, she shrinks further into herself and pushes back against Seonghwa and Wooyoung. Both of them share looks of confusion at her reaction. Wooyoung then tries his best to look around at her, but the musket pointed at him moves closer, so he holds still with a hard glare.

“Ah,” the admiral feigns a sigh, tsking, “Alice, Alice, my dear daughter. Did you think you could get away that easily? Definitely, a good thing I took the time to rough you up, I think I messed up your ankle enough that you might have been slower than even you realize,” he grumbles, shaking his head at her.

“You did what?!” Wooyoung’s blood boils as he hollers out, twisting around again and crawling to place himself in front of Alice, huffing for breath as he glares up at the admiral. “You stay the fuck away from her.”

“Well,” the admiral seems a little unnerved by this, but not enough to throw him off his game. “A pirate mistress for sure, shouldn’t be surprised. Guards,” he turns the horse, ignoring them as Wooyoung growls, “take them back across the river. Load them aboard my ship. I’ll purse captain Kim and his crew, I want to run my sword through him personally.”

The guards all give answering calls. One guard grabs each of the crew, hoisting them up and marching them single file back across the bank. Seonghwa stands in the back, Alice in front of him and Wooyoung in the lead. While both have many questions they want to ask Alice, no one dares break the tense silence or give the guards any reason to put a bayonet through their ribs.

Alice’s hands wring together in frustration and fear, her eyes continually glancing to her father, who walks just off to the side of them. She knows this is once again her bad luck, it’s always her bad luck. Wanting desperately to fix it, she tries to pull herself out of her meek mindset, but it’s so hard when the person who always triggers her weaker side is with her. Still unsure how trusting Seonghwa is, she tries to find her strength in Wooyoung who has quickly proven that he will always defend her. Then she thinks of Hongjoong, and the necklace has a sudden weight to it that makes its presences well known, and if her hands were free she’d reach up and grab it, hold onto it tightly.

The townspeople whisper as they pass, some louder than others, but they mostly stay out of the guard’s way, letting them be herded through the town. They walk at a relatively fast pace, the admiral’s impatience spreading through them all.

Once across the bridge, they’re turned towards the docks and marched through the city. As they turn around a corner, heading for the city gates, a guard comes running up to them.

“Admiral Stewart,” he addresses respectfully, shouldering his musket, “we have a pair of captain Kim’s crew for you, captured them admits their smoke bomb attempt.”

“No,” Seonghwa breaths out, feeling a punch to his gut, “no, no, no, no,” he repeats it like a mantra, eyes wide.

“Shit,” Wooyoung hisses under his breath, alerting Alice to the notion that the plan has gone wrong. “Plan c it is them,” he grimaces, “hopefully.”

“Bring them,” the admiral waves the guard off, halting the march to his ship.

With bated breath, the crew waits, watching closely as the guard scurries off behind a building to collect the crew members. There’s a ruckus, someone crying out and fighting. The sound of fists being thrown can be heard, and it makes the air tenser the longer they wait. It takes longer than the admiral likes for the guard to return, noted by his huffing breaths as he shifts atop the horse. More sounds are coming from the alley, and then gunfire and then a scream.

“No, no, no,” Seonghwa shoulders past Alice, who stands wide-eyed frozen in place.

Before he can get far, the guard returns, dragging a tall figure with him.

Alice is the first to recognize him, screaming for him as she snaps back into reality. “Yunho!”

The tall man is dragged by the guard, another quickly following, but he keeps trying to break free and go back to where they dragged him from. His eyes are full of tears, tracks of them pouring from his eyes as he babbles something under his breath.

“Yunho!” Wooyoung calls next, stepping forward to catch him on his shoulder as he’s thrown at them.

Unlike them, Yunho’s hands aren’t bound yet, but they’re shaking violently where he lays them on Wooyoung’s shoulders. The guards don’t seem to fuse over them, so Alice and Seonghwa quickly move forward to try and talk to him and hear what he’s saying.

“Calm down,” Wooyoung coos in his softest voice, nudging his head into Yunho’s, “breath, Yunho, breath.”

Taking heavy, shaking breaths, he keeps shaking his head and muttering quickly to himself.

“Yunho,” Alice speaks softly, “Yunho, what happened?”

Finally, after a few quick breaths, he manages to get out a few words that explain everything. “Gunhee, they – they shot.”

All of them feel the ground slip out from under them. Their world tilting as Yunho cries even harder against Wooyoung.

“He,” Yunho hiccups, stuttering, “he saved us, took five musket shots.”

Seonghwa inhales sharply.

Yunho’s hands shake more. “He saved us, but I couldn’t save him.”

They all try their best at that moment, to stow their shock and give Yunho the comfort he needs. The world though is a cruel place, and no one truly cares when a pirate or their accomplices die.

“Walk!”

The order shocks all of them, making them jump as Yunho is ripped from Wooyoung to have his hands tied behind his back as well. Then he’s shoved into Wooyoung again.

“I won’t say it again,” a guard growls, shoving a musket into Alice’s back.

“Okay!” she hollers, voice shaking, “we’re moving, we’re moving!” 

Seonghwa takes the lead this time, Yunho and Wooyoung following him and Alice trailing behind. Yunho can’t stop crying, his head bowed as he shuffles behind Seonghwa. Reaching back, Seonghwa grips onto Yunho’s shirt, a way of letting him know he’s here even if he can’t speak.

Seeing Yunho, someone else other than her, in such a state of shock and pain, brings Alice back from the feeble sate of her teenage years. It snaps her back into her reinforced mind of now, stronger and angrier than ever. Her glare is harsh, and her walk stronger, despite the ankle pain that’s slowly coming to life. All the running has left it sore again, and she’s more winded than she realizes, but she takes the time to compose herself and be strong of the crew.

She got them into this mess, so she’ll get them out of it.

The walk seems to never end, going on forever before the dockyard is reached. They’re marched right up to the plank of a large ship of the line. Upon stepping onboard, Seonghwa whistles lowly and Wooyoung mutters about the size difference from this to their galleon.

“Admiral Stewart,” an officer comes up, one hand on his sword as he eyes the prisoners, “we have the maps for you to look over. The captain thinks he knows where the pirates are headed.”

The admiral hops off his horse, striding up the plank to the officer and ignoring everyone else. “Where?” He demands.

The officer stutters at the force of the admiral’s voice. “The English Channel, we aren’t sure if they’ll sail through and into the Atlantic or hide.”

“If they hide,” the admiral presses, “where?”

“France more than likely,” the officer explains, “or possibly the southern coast of England. It’s hard to say.” 

“Well, then look at the maps more and figure it out. In the meantime, guards,” he turns back to the crew, and when he lays eyes on Alice, she’s proud that she doesn’t flinch back or shrink. Instead, she stares him down for once. “Lock them up below deck somewhere they can’t run. Maybe down below, somewhere that’s hard to get to. 

The guards salute once to the admiral before marching the prisoners to the lower deck. They only go down one deck before being led towards the far back of the ship. Most ships like these don’t have cells or cages, the larger ships aren’t meant to take in prisoners, but the admiral is a pirate hunter, so he’s set up a smaller, bared off area to lock up his captures. The four of them are led straight to that area. Leaving their hands bound, they’re marched in and locked up.

As soon as the key locks and the guards leave them, Alice turns her back to Wooyoung as she struggles with her ropes. “Get these off me now.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Wooyoung rolls his eyes but runs his back to her and reaches for her hands anyway. He has to crouch slightly to get leverage to pull the ropes free, but he manages to with a triumphed hum and smile.

Returning the favor, Alice spins and releases his hands quickly before spinning back around and walking to Yunho. More carefully, she unties his ropes, being gentle as she notes that his hands are still shaking. While she takes care of Yunho, Wooyoung releases Seonghwa from his binds. Once they’re all free, the tension seems to lessen, but Yunho is still grief-stricken.

“Yunho,” Alice calls, voice high and soft as she reaches up, “Yunho, it’s okay. I’m so sorry, but it’s okay.”

The gentle words bring more tears to his eyes. In an attempt to keep himself calm, he throws himself at Alice, wrapping her in a tight hug as he cries into her shoulder. She wraps her arms around him instantly, speaking soft words into his ear as she rubs his back. Neither of the other two moves to interrupt them, instead they stay silent, watching from the other side as Alice manages to calm Yunho down and reassure him all at once.

While the cell is quiet, the ship is a buzz with British officers and navy crewmen, running around and getting the ship ready to sail. As the call for sails to be opened and the anchor to be hoisted up, Yunho has calmed down enough to stop crying. He sniffles miserably, lifting an arm to wipe at his eyes with his sleeve as he steps back from Alice.

“Thank you, “he whispers, laying a soft kiss on the top of her head before he fully steps back, furiously wiping his eyes. “Thank you, this is just so insane.”

“I know,” Alice smiles, reaching up to pet his head with a fond smile on her lips.

Wooyoung steps up next to them, Seonghwa right behind him. “Okay, as worried as I am about what happened and how much I hope plan C is in effect by now, Alex, Alice, Alex,” he groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Sighing, she waves him off, “might as well be Alice now. Everyone seems to know who I am here. 

“Alice,” Wooyoung nods, testing it on his tongue, “still feels like we should call you Alex, I’m used it, I may even revert to it sometimes, but I digress. Can you explain what is going on?” 

“We understand you saved Mingi and Yunho,” Seonghwa steps in, eyeing her still cautiously, “something about claiming witchcraft, very clever, but,” he actually hesitates here, “the admiral that seems to be presiding over all this. Who is he exactly?”

Knowing there’s no point in withholding information or dwelling on it, Alice drops the information as simply as she can. “Admiral Stewart is my father and the person who murdered your captain’s father, though I didn’t know that until yesterday.”

“Small world,” Wooyoung laughs, shaking his head, “how mad was captain?”

“Naturally, very, but they put us in separate cells, so he got to fume alone. I was scared of him for a minute,” she pauses and sees Wooyoung have a simultaneous look of frustration and sadness, “but no one will ever be as scary as my father. Once he came in and got his hands on me, your captain was a lot nicer to me.”

“So, he roughed you up,” Seonghwa surmises, looking, for the first time, displeased and even a little irritated, but not at Alice.

Then Wooyoung’s eyes widen, “oh my god, your ankle! You need to sit down,” he jumps into action. Carefully placing his hands on her shoulders, he pushes her back towards the ship wall and then down to sit. He takes her ankle gently in his hands as he sits cross-legged before her, laying it in his lap as he looks it over.

Looking at it for the first time since the incident, she sees it’s turned a nasty purple color in the shape of her father’s boot where he stepped on it. It looks slightly twisted, and there’s a noticeable darker color to her ankle where her bones meet.

Yunho hisses when his eyes land it. “You ran on that?”

Shrugging, Alice looks down to her lap, “I honestly didn’t even realize it hurt.”

Seonghwa makes a ‘tsk’ sound at her, and she isn’t sure if it’s affectionate or malicious.

“We just need to wait it out,” Wooyoung speaks, gently rubbing her ankle, “they’ll come for us soon. Until then we need to rest, gain up our strength,” he turns a pointed gaze to Seonghwa and Yunho who reluctantly sit beside them.

Just down the river from where the admiral’s ship begins to turn away from the dock, is the Desire. They’re already at full sail and moving down the river. Mingi and Hongjoong row their boat right up beside the ship where they’re thrown down ropes to tie the boat up. The crew hoists them up out of the water with ease, pulling them from the boat onto the ship and leaving the boat where it sits against the ship’s side. As soon as they’re on board, Hongjoong takes note that Jongho is at the helm with Yeosang, directing him as he steers the ship. San comes bounding across the deck to them, looking troubled.

“Plan C,” he declares, looking at Mingi instead of Hongjoong.

“What, no, who’d they capture?” Mingi demands.

“Yunho and Wooyoung never came back.”

“Wooyoung caught up to us,” Hongjoong explains, “but they have him, Seonghwa, and Alice.”

“So, yeah, plan C,” San confirms.

Raising a brow, Hongjoong follows as him and Mingi as they head to the helm, Mingi taking the wheel from Jongho. “Is someone gonna tell me what plan C is?”

“A strategic maneuver,” Yeosang explains, grinning, “we get them to follow us to the English Channel, wait for the fog to roll in and then slip behind them, climb aboard and save the crew.”

“How do we know there will be fog?”

“We didn’t know until now. Alex,” Yeosang sighs, “as much as her bad luck is an issue, she’s on that ship which means she’ll bring them bad luck. Losing us to fog? That would be their worst nightmare, so it’s almost guaranteed to happen.”

Hongjoong opens his mouth to refute him but then closes it just as quickly. He knows they’re right.

“I know,” Yeosang walks over to pat his shoulder, “it’s a little cruel, but it will work.”

“Alright,” Hongjoong waves him off, “then we need to keep his ship in our sights at all times. Do we know his ship? 

San nods his head. “A ship of the line, captain. We can’t go too slow; his guns could take us out without even blinking.” 

“Bring us up to three-fourths speed then,” he waves his hand, dismissing San and turning to Yeosang. “What now?” 

“Now?” Yeosang sighs, rubbing his forehead, “we sail, and we wait for the time to strike.” 

While it isn’t the ideal situation, they lead the admiral’s ship through the Thames. They keep him at a reasonable distance, but even at full sail, the ship of the line is faster than a galleon. Hongjoong takes the time to fill them all in on Alice, her father, and the events of the day before. Yeosang is happy to see that Hongjoong seems to actually be caring for Alice now, but he keeps his observation to himself as he goes over his maps.

As they begin to make their way through the English Channel, the fog rolls in.

“Fogbank ahead!” San calls form the crow’s nest, grinning wide as the crew cheers. 

Hongjoong stands by Mingi, back to the crew as he watches the admiral’s ship in the distance, gaining on them quickly. “Shorten the sails! We want to be slower when we turn.” 

San relays the order to the crew.

“Do you think it will work?” Mingi asks, quiet and unsure.

Hongjoong waits for a second before quietly saying, “it has to.”

They roll into the fog easily enough. Hongjoong pulls out his scope and keeps watch on the ship of the line until he’s absolutely sure the sails have vanished in the fog. Closing his scope, he takes a deep, steadying breath before slowly breaths out through his mouth.

Walking up to him, Yeosang rolls up his maps and quietly asks, “are we ready?”

Hongjoong takes a few seconds more, standing still before nodding. “Ready.”

As if knowing this, Jongho emerges from below deck, carrying a long hefty rope with him across the ship. He has a line of crew members helping him as he throws it up to the forecastle deck. Descending from the helm, Hongjoong sweeps across the ship to him.

“Do we know how we’re doing this?” Hongjoong inquires, following Jongho up onto the forecastle deck, hauling up the rest of the rope.

“Kind of,” Jongho grunts, grabbing one end, “I tied some ropes together to make it stronger, but we’ll have to keep pace with them, so it doesn’t pull them or break, and it can’t be too lax, or it won’t hold us all.” 

Yeosang joins them at that point, “we’re attaching it the back of the ship.”

“We?” Hongjoong’s eyebrows rise in surprise as he looks between the pair.

“We volunteered to be the rescue mission,” Jongho explains.

“Anyway,” Yeosang helps Jongho get the rope tied around the front post of the ship, “I know they have posts and lanterns on the back of their ships. If we can sneak up there long enough to tie the rope tight, then we can knock out some guards and sneak down to rescue them.”

“As brave as that sounds, that ship will be crawling with soldiers and people looking for us.” 

“Not inside,” Yeosang grins, “we could sneak in through the windows, find the crew, break them out. It’s in option.”

Hongjoong hums, watching Jongho tighten the rope.

“It’s risky,” Yeosang sighs, seeing the concern in his eyes, “we know. We have no other choice, we have to get them back.” 

Biting his lip to keep his protests at bay, Hongjoong nods.

Sensing his distress till, Yeosang sighs, turning back to look at San who has joined them, standing just below the deck, watching them. They share a look, a long look before San sighs and nods his head.

“To make it better, we’ll get close enough to see the ship through the fog,” San offers. “Not close enough that they’ll notice us in their wake, but close enough to where from here and with a scope we can see what’s happening.”

“Okay, okay,” Hongjoong waves them off, turning to return to the main deck. “We don’t have a choice anyway, let’s just do what has to be done.”

With his dismissal wave as he walks away, the crew gets to work. 

The sunlight on the fog causes an almost blinding effect on the sea. When Mingi calls this out, Hongjoong moves back to take the wheel from him, trusting his luck as he slowly spins the ship around. The winds die down as they maneuver, blindly through the waves. Mingi goes about making sure the crew knows to be silent and getting everything ready for a quick escape if things go back. Yeosang and Jongho post up on the forecastle deck, sitting and waiting or the ship to come into view.

Hours pass in still, tense silence as the crew waits. The longer it takes, the more irritable Hongjoong feels, an itch under his skin makes him worry that maybe this time, his luck won’t work. Just as his doubt is starting to get the better of him, Yeosang jumps to his feet, raising his fist. 

“Mingi,” Hongjoong calls, voice low, “take the wheel. San, go to the crow’s nest,” he steps away from the wheel and hurries across the deck, up to Yeosang and Jongho, pulling four or five other crew members up with him. “Yeosang,” he steps up to him, “when the ropes tied tight, pull twice. When you’re getting ready to come back, give one long tug and then let go. Leave enough slack.”

“Aye captain,” he nods along.

Turning back to the crew, Hongjoong addresses them on the main deck, “lower the rowboat for them,” then he turns back to the two. “Go get in the boat and come around the front, I’ll throw the rope to you. Ditch the boat I don’t care, we still have two spares.”

“Good,” Jongho agrees, “there’s no idea how long it’ll take, and we’re still moving so, better safe than sorry.”

“Exactly, now go!”

With the plan set in motion, they all move quickly. As soon as they reach the boat and climb in, they’re lowered to the sea, and Jongho takes the ores, rowing them towards the bow. Hongjoong waits until he can see them, Yeosang waving to him before he throws the rope down to him and then Jongho begins to row them away. Looking up to the ship, that’s just barely in view, Hongjoong says a silent prayer to himself.

The waves carry them across to the ship quickly and painlessly. The fog shrouds them just enough that no one notices. Jongho holds the boat to the ship as Yeosang climbs the side swiftly. He takes a minute to get his footing and avoid the lit windows, but he makes it to the top of the stern. Looking over the railing, he sees the crew spread out, mostly clustered on the lower deck, looking over maps and notes. Deeming it clear, he turns to Jongho and motions for him to toss the rope. Standing carefully, he picks up the heavy rope and swings it up, almost knocking the boat over with the force and weight of the now wet rope. With quick movements, Yeosang catches it, heaves a heavy breath and then pulls it up to the railing. As he works on sliding it through the railing and pulling, so it lifts from the water, Jongho ditches the boat and climbs up to join him. The rope is stubborn and heavy, but eventually, Yeosang gets it tied just right and gives it two sharps pulls. 

“Where is the cell most likely to be?” Yeosang asks quietly, looking over the railing again. 

“The second deck, the third deck probably,” Jongho muses. “I think their second deck is more open, so the third is more accurate.”

“Okay, then back down to the galley windows.”

Carefully, they climb down to the windows of the third deck, scoping out the rooms through the windows. The galley hall is lit, filled with soldiers who seem to be taking a break, but their medical room is empty and dark. Sliding across the back of the ship with almost no footholds is difficult, but Yeosang makes it across first, kicking in the windows and diving in, Jongho right behind him.

They scramble to hide behind something as muffled voices approach. 

“Was that glass breaking?”

“They’ve been drinking, so it might have been.” 

“Come on, let’s check the galley.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yeosang swallows as he closes his eyes for a minute, trying to relax his nerves. Jongho places a hand on his shoulder, pulling his attention. He gives him a quick sign, signaling that he’ll lead before he begins to crouch walk across the room to the door.

The ship is, for the most part, quiet. Most of the crew has retired to other sections of the ship to rest until they encounter their target and the other, more determined ones are above deck keeping lookout. It makes their job easier as they quickly move through the ship, looking in every room and area for their crewmates. It takes them a while, longer than they’d like, but eventually, they move around to the front of the ship where they find them. Yeosang gives a long, low whistle to signal their arrival. 

Yunho’s ears perk up first, and he jolts from where he’s leaning against the wall, eyes scanning the area until he sees Yeosang and Jongho emerge from the shadows.

“They’re here,” Yunho declares, causing the rest of the crew to rise.

Seonghwa and Yunho move first, standing up the quickest and rushing the cell bars. As Yeosang produces a lock pick from his pockets, Wooyoung carefully pulls Alice to her feet and wraps an arm around her shoulder to hold her steady.

“What happened?” Jongho questions, watching them closely. 

Alice chuckles to herself, shaking her hair from her face as she whispers, “my dad happened.”

The lock clicks open easily enough. Yeosang hums in understanding, since Hongjoong had, for the most part, filled them in on the situation at hand. 

“We have to be quick,” Jongho waits for Yeosang to slowly open the cell before continuing in a quiet voice. “There’s a rope tied to the back of the ship, shimmy across to get to the other side.” 

“How’d you get in?” Seonghwa questions as they begin their way back into the ship. 

“Through a window,” Yeosang explains.

“Alex can’t climb,” Wooyoung hisses.

“It’s fine,” she lays a hand on his chest, “one of you can carry me on your back to the top, and we’ll take it from there.”

They all agree with the plan, though some more hesitantly than others.

Quickly and quietly, they make it back to the medical room. Seonghwa makes sure the coast is clear before closing the door.

“Wait,” Alice pulls away from Wooyoung, who tries to stop her, but she keeps walking. She makes it to the supply cupboard, rifling through until she finds something to write on and something to write with.

“What are you doing?” Seonghwa growls, “there’s no time for this.”

“There’s a place to hide here,” she explains, frantically writing our coordinates and directions. “Over by France are some islands, little hiding spots that you can hide out until the navy gives up the chase and the coming storm to pass.”

They all share a collective look of shock at this information.

“How,” Yeosang starts, “how do you know that and what storm?”

Alice smiles softly as she turns, holding the paper to him. “Consider it my special gift. It’s not luck, it’s knowledge. Take this, have them prepared to steer off in that direction, all my calculations should be correct.”

“She never even looked at a map,” Wooyoung whispers under is breath, pure awe in his vocal tones.

“Alright,” Seonghwa draws their attention back, “let’s move.”

By this time, the winds have begun to pick up as the sky darkens. A storm begins to brew around the ships, clouds rolling in overhead quickly, just as Alice said. Yeosang goes out of the window first. Once he reaches the rope, Yeosang tucks the paper into his pockets and grips the rope pulling once for a good long second before letting go and gripping on to begin shimmying his way across. Wooyoung is the next to follow him, having gone up after him. Seonghwa follows, but he moves to carefully and slowly stand on the deck. He doesn’t take his eyes off the crew just meters from him, any one of them could turn around. Below, Jongho takes Alice on his back and begins to climb up to them. Once Jongho reaches him, Seonghwa takes Alice’s arms and helps her onto the deck. Jongho gives him a nod, and then he follows Wooyoung onto the rope. Just as Yunho’s making his way up to them, climbing over the railing to check on Alice and figure out how she wants to get across, someone shouts.

“Movement on deck! Prisoners escaping!”

“Go!” Alice motions to Seonghwa and Yunho.

Moving quickly, Yunho goes first. The sound of officers’ boots resounds across the near-silent sea. Alice looks to them with a mixture of determination and fear; it makes Seonghwa hesitate as he reaches for the rope.

“Are you coming?” He asks gently, reaching for her arm.

“Yeah, I’ll be right behind you,” she waves him off, not looking away as an officer climbs the stairs up to them. “Seonghwa, go!”

He growls, grabbing her arm roughly to pull her back. “I’m not leaving you!” 

The lone guard comes at them, sword drawn, but Seonghwa is faster. He steps in front of Alice and quickly disarms the guard, twisting his wrist until he drops the sword. Snatching it out of the air, he cuts him down without much of a fight. Before he can do anything more, Alice takes the sword from his hands and pushes him to the rope.

“Go quickly,” she presses, “better me than an actual member of the crew, I’d hate for you guys to lose your crew over me now go.” 

Seonghwa hesitates at that, something in his heart twisting at her words, but reluctantly he grips the rope and begins his way across, calling back a quick, “you better follow.”

Turning to watch him, she waits until he’s a good distance away before gripping the railing, but she hesitates just long enough for a musket shot to go off. With a scream, she drops to the deck, turning back only to find three officers reloading their muskets as the admiral and captain of the ship make their way towards her.

“Alex!”

Time slows down around her, for just a second as she looks back to Seonghwa. She sees the fear on his face, clear as day even in the waning light. Then, he begins to try and turn around, come back for her.

_No._

Before she can stop herself, she stands back up and swings the cutlass, just as the order to fire is shouted across the deck. The rope breaks easily enough, the sword slicing right through just as a musket shot goes through her shoulder. Crying out in pain, she drops to the deck, just catching the sight of Seonghwa falling to the water before she drops the sword and grips her bleeding shoulder.

“You have got to be kidding me!” the admiral roars as he walks to the railing, leaning over to watch as the Desire disappears into the fog.

Thunder rolls overhead, the sky darkening quickly as the fog thickens.

“My bad luck, ever-present,” Alice groans under her breath, breathing heavily as she removes her shaking hand form her shoulder. The dark blood covers her palm, and it drips down her arm, staining the white dress.

The admiral slams his fist into the railing, then he turns to Alice, eyes hard. “You’d really sacrifice yourself for pirates?”

“They’re my family,” Alice grits out, shakily climbing to her feet, “and my crew. Though some may not think so, they are my people, and I would do anything to keep them safe.” 

“Even this?” He laughs, harsh and cold. “You’re just as crazy as your mother was.”

Despite the dire situation, Alice smiles at that. 

Walking up to her, her father stands right before her, staring down at her. “I have one question then; would you be willing to die for them.” 

“Yes,” Alice fires back, no hesitation. 

“Would they do the same for you?”

She hesitates there but nods her head still.

Humming, he steps back from her. “You look different, you seem stronger.”

“I am,” she agrees, grinning brightly, “because I realized I have people who need me and I would do anything for them, and yes, that includes dying for them to live.”

A strike of lightning punctuates her statement, striking the ocean behind them. The admiral steps back in surprise, just as droplets of rain begin to fall. The wind whips around them, a stronger gust that tugs at the sails.

Sighing, the admiral draws his sword. “Well then, I guess you’ll be doing just that.”

A bolt of lightning strikes the sea beside them and thunder booms right over their heads. The sound is deafening, and Alice misses his last few words; just as she furrows her brows, opening her mouth to ask him to repeat what he said, he pulls his arm back and thrusts it forward. Gasping, Alice snaps her mouth and eyes shut as an immense pain fill all her senses.

Opening her eyes slowly, she looks down, past her father’s smug face, to see his sword running straight through her stomach. Then, he twists the blade, causing her to cry out as her knees give out. He holds her up, walking her struggling body to the railing.

She almost expects him to say something smug, something about his win, but all he does is grip the sword tighter and rip it from her stomach, sending her blood everywhere. Desperately, she grabs her stomach, coughing violently as she tries to breath through the pain, but all that comes out is blood. Then, he grips her shoulder and pushes.

The thunder rolls once more, lighting striking a sail this time, but Alice sees none of this. Gravity takes hold of her, and she falls through the air. Her vision blurs slowly, the last sight being that of her father’s face watching her, and then she’s cold all over. The ocean takes her into its grasps, but she doesn’t fight, doesn’t even notice. Her body is too weak to try, so she closes her eyes.

Across the water, on the deck of the Desire, just moments prior, the crew is desperately pulling the rope on deck. As soon as the rope dropped, the crew jumped into action. Yeosang and Wooyoung had already made it across, Yunho not far behind them. Yeosang explains to Hongjoong the coordinates Alice gave him, and Hongjoong just waves him off telling him to “do what he has to,” so he takes off to join Mingi. Yunho climbs up himself from the side, having swam over, and he runs up to them, asking about the other two.

It takes a lot more pulling, but Seonghwa holds onto the rope and is pulled to the forecastle deck. He’s drenched straight through, water dripping from all his clothes. Shivering violently, he stares down at the deck in a state of pure shock.

When a crew member declares that the rope is free, and no one’s left Hongjoong drops to his knees, gripping his shoulders, shaking him. “Seonghwa! Seonghwa, where is Alice.” 

“She, she,” he coughs, shaking more as he looks. 

“I’ll get a blanket,” Yunho calls out, disappearing from their field of view.

Hongjoong continues to stare at Seonghwa, waiting for him to explain, but growing impatient.

“Why would she,” he breaths out, coughing, “why did she.” 

“What did she do what?” Hongjoong shakes him again. “Seonghwa!”

Finally, he looks at him, tears brimming in his eyes. “She cut the rope. She – she saw the guards coming, she got shot, and she cut the rope! I tried to go back! Why, why did she save me?”

“She’s still on the ship!” San declares, loudly before jumping onto the mast. “Full sail! We need to catch up!”

Seonghwa doesn’t stop babbling though, tears coming out of his eyes as he looks at Hongjoong. “Hongjoong, why, why would she save me when I’ve never -never … I treated her like dirt, nothing more than dirt under my boots, and she still chose to save me instead of letting me save her. Why? Hongjoong, why?”

“I,” Hongjoong swallow, pulling Seonghwa into his chest and burying his face in his hair, “I don’t know, Seonghwa. I’m sorry, we’re gonna get her. Just wait.”

He holds Seonghwa for a minute more before San calls out that the ship is in sight. Letting go of Seonghwa, Hongjoong stands up and fishes his scope from his jacket. Walking to the edge of the ship, he lifts the metal piece and looks to the ship.

There across the water, he sees Alice and the admiral standing toe to toe. A strike of lighting blinds his vision for a second, but once it’s gone, the admiral is standing back from her. Seonghwa scrambles to his feet as Yunho wraps a blanket around him. He keeps an arm around Seonghwa as he walks them to the edge of the ship. Another lighting strike blinds them and the thunder booms over, but as soon as the light clears, Hongjoong’s heart stops. 

Seonghwa’s and Yunho’s collective screams pierce the wind, sending it across the deck of the ship and alerting the crew. Hongjoong’s blood runs cold as he sees, clear as day, the admiral’s sword goes through Alice. Something inside him cries, but he stands frozen in place as she’s shoved overboard and into the murky water. He doesn’t even realize he’s not breathing until his lungs scream and he has to gasp for breath.

Tears burn Seonghwa’s eyes as he cries out, dropping to his knees and sobbing. Yunho holds a fist to his mouth as tears start to pool from his eyes. From behind them, Wooyoung comes running.

“Did she, is she,” he huffs out, eyes wild as he scans the ocean. He rushes the railing, trying to climb over, “we have to find her! Bring her back!”

Jumping into gear, Hongjoong drops his scope, letting it rolls away as he wraps an arm around Wooyoung’s waist, pulling him back on deck. He protests, of course, screaming and crying as he tries to break free.

The clouds open up at their point, pouring down rain on top of them, the wash thrashing against his grip.

“Calm down,” Hongjoong pleads, tears coming to his own eyes, “please Wooyoung.”

“No!” He screams, though his fight is slowly leaving him. “We have to chase after them.”

“We can’t!” Hongjoong snaps, voice hoarse and punctuated by a loud roll of thunder. “That ship would kill us dead, and she didn’t, she didn’t,” he breaths off in shortened breaths as he squeezes Wooyoung righter. “She didn’t die for us to die.”

With that, Wooyoung stops, breaking into heavy sobs, his tears mostly masked by the rain now bearing down on them.

A soft hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder makes him look up, San stands by him, crouching down and holding his arms out. “I’ve got him, you go do what you have to.”

He hesitates, blinking rain from his eyes, but in the end, he gives him. With gentle hands, he passes Wooyoung to San, and he instantly clings onto his wet shirk, crawling into his lap as he sobs.

Looking around, Hongjoong sees the rest of the crew in states of equal shock. Seonghwa continues to cry as Yunho tries is best to comfort him. Sweeping his gaze towards the stern of the ship, he sees Yeosang, eyes red and puffy, but still giving out shaky orders as they turn the ship away from their pursuit. Mingi’s knuckles are white where he’s holding the wheel, face stone-cold, but the emotion is in his sad eyes. 

Pulling himself together as the wind howls, Hongjoong stands up, quickly wiping both rain and tears from his eyes as he descends from the forecastle deck. Once he on the main deck, he begins calling out orders, the crew moves instantly into action as he walks across the deck. Stepping up to the helm, he shares a look with Mingi, who let’s go of the wheel and passes the lead to Hongjoong. Yeosang quickly explains the information Alice gave to him, and Hongjoong lets him guide them through the storm.

It takes another few hours of fighting the storm before the land is spotted. Yeosang uses his own scope to guide Hongjoong. The crew takes to the masts, pulling in the sails slowly but surely as Hongjoong steers the ship into a small alcove of the island. The water leads right up to a cliff, the walls encasing them on either side, hiding them from the ocean.

“Drop the anchor and fold the sails!” Hongjoong calls over the wind.

The sails are soaked through, making it tougher to pull them into place. The anchor falls quickly, locking them in place as the waves continue to crash around them. The rain falls faster, heavier as the thunder rolls around them. Lightning strikes the sea behind them, lighting up their work long enough for them to finish tying down any loose equipment.

“Everyone below deck,” Hongjoong hollers out, “main crew, meet in my cabin!”

A chorus of “aye” is heard as the crew ties the last knots. They all descend from the masts and decks, heading into the ship, pulling the trap door shut behind the last member. The rest of them, scramble through the rain into Hongjoong’s cabin.

The rain beats against the windows of the ship, filling in the background as they all stand there, shaking off the rainwater and catching their breaths. Yeosang carries a stack of books in his arms, walking over to Hongjoong’s bed, he throws them down, sitting with them and quickly flicking through them. San still holds Wooyoung, sliding down to the floor with his back against the door and pulling Wooyoung into his lap. Wooyoung curls closer to him, too tired to fight. Mingi moves around, grabbing blankets from beside Yeosang and handing them out. Jongho takes one and carefully lays it over San and Wooyoung, planting himself beside them, while Yunho takes one as well, sitting next to Yeosang and wrapping it around him. Mingi then finds a spot by Hongjoong’s desk to stand, bowing his head. Hongjoong stands in front of his desk, just staring down at it in silence for a minute before taking off his soaked coat and laying it over the desk. Then he turns, looking to Seonghwa whose arms are wrapped around his stomach, face distraught.

“I hate myself a lot right now,” are the first words to break the silence, spoken quietly by Seonghwa. “I didn’t even think it could be her.”

Yunho turns to them, “What are you talking about?”

“I knew, I knew someone would die,” Seonghwa explains in a tired, shocked voice. “Someone close to me, someone I would be right next to before it happened. I wasn’t next to her, but I was the last to be close to her.” He gives a hysteric chuckle, shaking his head. “Here I thought it’d be one of us eight, I didn’t even think it could be her. Every time something would happen, I’d wonder who around me it could be. Hongjoong when he was on the gallows. Wooyoung when we got captured. Yunho just before we grabbed the rope. Then I was on the rope, and I thought we were in the clear, no one was left,” he hesitates, voice cracking as he goes on, tears forming in his eyes again. “Then a musket went off, and I turned, and I realized, for the first time, it could be her. Until that moment I didn’t even consider her, and she gave her life for me.”

Breaking down completely, he curls in on himself, sobbing uncontrollably as he covers his mouth. Mingi moves to him quickly, wrapping him in a tight hug, pulling his head to his chest so he can cry.

Hongjoong sits at his desk, dropping his head into his hands. He holds back his tears, as much as he wants to cry, because his heart feels like he just lost someone closer than family, he knows he needs to be strong. For all of them. Sniffling, he wipes his eyes and then lifts his head, tilting it back to keep the tears at bay.

It’s silent for a few minutes more, the only sound being the soft cries from multiple members and the flipping of paper as Yeosang furiously looks through the books he arrived with. 

After a while more, Yeosang’s page-flipping stops. 

“I found him,” he breaths out, hands shaking where he holds the page. “Guys, I, I found the god she is supposed to meet.”

“What?” Hongjoong furrows his brows, slowly lowering his head.

“She had to meet another god,” Wooyoung explains in a weak voice, head lifting from San’s chest, “to cure her curse.”

Shuffling closer, Yunho looks over his shoulder. “Who is it?”

Yeosang hesitates, closing his eyes to steady his breath before opening them to read. “The son of the sea, known as Manannán mac Lir or simply, Manannán or Manann. It says here that he has a boat, it’s named Scuabtuinne, which means eave sweeper, and it’s drawn by a horse. The horse is named Enbarr, meaning water foam. Uh,” he hesitates, finger pausing on the next sentence, “wish I had found this sooner.” 

“Yeosang,” Hongjoong calls, voice soft, “go on.” 

“Manann is the ruler and guardian of the Otherworld, and he is the one who,” he loses his breath again, closing his eyes for a second before quickly opening them. He swallows once more before finishing, “he is the one who ferries souls to the afterlife. The only way she could meet him was to die.” 

The knowledge sinks in like a twenty-pound cannon, crushing everyone’s minds. Alice is dead. She has to be because all the other parts of the prophecy were correct. The weight sits heavy, chocking them all, but Hongjoong refuses.

“No,” he shakes his head, “no, she can’t be.”

“Hongjoong,” Mingi’s voice has a sad tone to it as he shakes his head.

“I want to look,” Hongjoong growls, “when the storm passes we are sailing around the shores of these islands, and I will find her. I refuse to believe she’s dead.”

No one comments on the distress in his voice, and no one’s sure if he’s just hopeful enough that she will survive it or not, but they all know that Alice is dead. Whether they want to accept it or not.

Closing the book gently, Yeosang sighs, rubbing his eyes.

“Everyone,” he begins, speaking slowly in his tired state, “go below deck. Go to bed. Everyone sleep, rest. We won’t be found, and we can’t do anything until the storm passes. If you don’t want to go below deck, go to the sickbay, we have cots there.”

Without a word, they follow his commands. Slowly they rise from the floor and make their way out the door. The wind howls, rain pelting the floor through the open door. Everyone files out silently, but Yeosang stops by Hongjoong’s desk.

“Will you be alright?” He asks.

Hongjoong gives a slow, silent nod, waving Yeosang off.

Knowing that he just needs time to himself, he gives is own solemn nod before exiting. The door shuts behind him, cutting off the intense sound of the wind and rain, leaving only the background noise of it pelting his windows.

As soon as his brain registers that he’s alone, the storm blocking noise from traveling very far, he slams his fist into his desk, hands shaking as tears come forth. He cries openly, angerly, letting is emotions consume him. The only thing keeping him slightly sane, despite his heavy sobs, is the notion that she has the protection charm, she has his necklace. He prays, to his god, her god, and the sea, that it’s enough.


	19. Chapter Sixteen: Mermaids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song(S): “Falling Slowly” by Celtic Thunder, “Cresent” by ATEEZ, “You and I - Stripped” by PVRIS

__

* * *

 

_Breath._

Air rushes through Alice’s lungs suddenly and sharply, making her gasp and snap open her eyes. She takes in a long deep breath as her vision slowly comes into focuses. The first thing she sees is the dark grey clouds rolling above her head, she can smell the scent of rain lingering in the air, and a cold breeze brushes past her exposed arms and legs. There’s a vague, empty feeling in her chest, telling her something’s wrong. For a minute she just lays there, staring up at the sky, numb. Her brain is foggy, but she tries to remember what happened, where she is, how she got here. Nothing arises, her mind is blank.

There’s a dull throb in her stomach, shoulder, and head. Groaning, she begins to moves, lifting her tired, heavy arms to push herself up.

The ground underneath her is soft, green grass, swaying gently against her in the breeze. As she looks around, she finds herself lying in a field, enclosed by thick layers of fog and a rocky bay. The dark brown and green hills rise from the area and wrap around the water to create the small bay. Past the hills, there’s an opening where the ocean flows through. The ocean leads up to the beach, quietly lapping at the rocks just a meter from her. There’s only one spot of the rocky shore that looks clear, the stones dry and gray compared to the larger moss-covered rocks stretching up to the hillsides.

As her eyes sweep over the landscape, she locks eyes on a tall, cloaked figure, standing on the beach. She feels no fear, the sight of him doesn’t seem to bother her at all.

Carefully pushing up her tired body up, she rises from the grass and makes her way onto the beach.

The cloaked man turns to her, revealing a pale white face and short light brown curls; a smile sits on his lips as he lowers his hood and addresses her. “Hello, Alice,” there’s a distinctly Irish accent to his voice, easily noted even in his short greeting.

Alice eyes him carefully, head still too foggy to understand anything.

“Hi,” she says slowly, looking out to the bay, “um, where am I am.”

“You are standing at the shore to the Otherworld,” he explains in his soft, accented voice.

Turning back to him, Alice asks, “how did I get here?”

He squints at her, tilting his head. “You don’t remember, do you?”

She pauses, trying to search her brain for the memories. She can vaguely see them, but they’re still fogged over and hard to decipher even as they play in her mind.

“Don’t worry if you can’t remember at first,” he gives her a reassuring smile and then looks back to the water. “Everyone has trouble remembering at first.”

The way he speaks unnerves her, but her emotions feel as if they’ve been numbed. She knows what she feels, nervous and scared, but the feelings are less intense then they should be. Heading his words, she lets her mind relax and tries to think slowly.

“I remember,” she draws the word out, eyes sweeping over the fields, “visiting Ireland and meeting a god. Then we went to London. I got captured,” her eyes shine brighter as the memories become solid enough to gasp, “but we escaped. We escaped, but we were taken on a ship, and they came to rescue us and I,” she breaks off as a severe pain shoots up from her stomach. Gasping, she clutches her stomach. “I – I … I died.”

He gives her a sad smile, turning to face her while resting a hand on her shoulder, “correct.”

“But,” she squints her eyes, standing up straight as the pain disappears, and looks around. “If I died, how am I here? Alive?”

“You aren’t alive.”

Alice whips her head around to look at him, “oh.”

“Let me introduce myself,” he pats her shoulder once before removing his hand to clasp it in his other in front of him. “I am Manannán, I am also known as Manannán mac Lir.”

“Manannán,” Alice repeats quietly, repeating as best she can.

“Manann is easier for you mortals to say,” he offers. “I am the protector of the Otherworld, you know it better as the afterlife, and I am in charge of taking your souls to that afterlife.”

“There are gods, of course, there’s an afterlife,” Alice mutters, hitting her head lightly, “that’s a given.”

Manann chuckles lightly, “yes, a fair connection.”

“So,” Alice hesitates, “I died, and you are here to take me?”

“Not exactly,” he grins, shifting to face her fully. “You’re here for a different reason, the meaning of my name may help you understand. My full name means “son of the sea.””

Recognition dawns in Alice’s eyes.

“There it is,” Manann snaps his fingers, “I thought maybe you would have figured it out. I know my father never just, gives information for free.”

“We were researching,” Alice responds quietly, eyes dropping, “Yeosang and I.”

Manann hums in understanding.

“This still doesn’t,” she huffs out a breath, tossing his hair back in frustration and running her hands through it. “Why am I here? If I’m dead, but you aren’t taking me, then why did I have to die?”

There’s a distant rumble of thunder that fills the silence. The clouds seem to roll faster above them, responding to the tension sparking from Alice. Her frustration is palpable as she huffs out another breath.

“To prove your selflessness,” Manann explains after a few more beats.

Alice tilts her head, looking up at him. “Selflessness?”

“Yes, you had, in Lir’s eyes, become selfish with your gifts,” he further explains.

Confused still, Alice shakes her head. “I didn’t use them.”

“Exactly,” Manann’s voice grows gentle, his eyes even turning soft as he looks at her, “you kept them to yourself to protect yourself.”

“Ah,” Alice nods her head, looking down, “selfish. Hiding away; being afraid of my gifts. How did I,” she pauses, thinking about the past events that led up to this point. “When did I prove myself?”

Manann asks her his own question instead of answering her’s. “What were the two last things you did before dying?”

She opens her mouth to answer but then snaps it shut. The memories are completely back now, so she quietly recollects everything leading up to her father stabbing her. It takes her a minute before it dawns her: she gave the coordinates to Yeosang for a hiding spot, and she cut the rope to stop Seonghwa from coming to her aid.

_Seonghwa._

“Do you know if they survived?” She asks, dismissing their first topic for a minute as she looks up at him earnestly. “Seonghwa, especially, he was trying to come back, and they fired muskets, I need to know if he’s alright.”

“Selfless,” Manann smiles, “completely selfless. They are alive and fine.”

Alice relaxes at that, a smile on her lips.

“They made it to your location, all are safe. Heartbroken,” he frowns “but safe.”

“Well, heartbroken we can’t fix,” she laughs, a sad, strained one. “I’m dead anyway, there’s no going back. I proved myself, I showed I could be better, but I still didn’t make it. Guess you’ll be ferrying me off then?”

“No.”

It’s silent for a beat as Alice blinks, surprised by his quick answer.

“No?” She repeats in a quiet voice.

“No,” Manann nods his head, looking back to the water, “you are here to prove yourself, which you did, and lift your curse so you can live, not, so you die.”

Alice watches him, but there’s something in the back of her head. Voices. They aren’t loud, barely even there, but they tickle her subconscious.

“How?” She inquires, ignoring the strange feeling and focusing on Manann.

Grinning, like he knows a secret she doesn’t, he shakes his head. “They’ll explain how you survived, but just know that you proved yourself. If you hadn’t saved them, then I would be taking you away. Remember that, next time.”

“Next time?” Alice feels the wind speed around her suddenly, her words sounding far off even to her as the voices in her head get louder.

“I’ll see you again,” he says softly, distantly, “but it’s far too early to take you to the afterlife.”

Manann doesn’t let her respond or ask any more questions, he just smiles and lifts his hood back up to cover his face. She tries to call out, but instead, she hears her name being called. As he turns back to the ocean, she turns to the fog encasing the field. It swirls before her eyes, and she finds herself frozen to her spot. The voices calling for her get louder and louder. There’s a sharp pain in her head that makes her eyes snap shut as the voices come closer, muffled still.

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the pain vanishes, and she feels like she’s floating for a heartbeat, and then she feels nothing.

_Open your eyes._

The storm that had ripped through the English Channel calms down by the time the sun rises. The clouds still layer the sky, giving the morning an eerie dark feel as the crew emerges from the depths of the Desire. Seonghwa joins the crew as they rise, looking as put together as he can, ordering them around quietly and patiently. They spend the early hours of the morning cleaning up the mess the storm left behind, unrolling the sails to let them dry in the light breeze, mopping up the water, and making sure nothing was lost to the sea. The anchor holds them still in between the cliff edges, even in the wind. The ship gently rocks with the waves around them, but not enough to disturb the crew from their jobs.

When Hongjoong finally emerges from his room, the crew notes that he looks like a mess, but keeps it to themselves. His butchered hair is disheveled, dark circles rest under his eyes, and it’s clear from his red eyes that he’s been crying. His red coat still rests on his shoulder, though his arms are crossed over his chest under it, not in the sleeves. Seonghwa observes him as he walks over to the stern, leaning on the railing and looking out to the sea, but he doesn’t approach him just yet.

The crew completes their cleaning duties fairly quickly, the day still young by the time they start the task of bringing the canons back above deck. Mingi joins them on deck, telling Seonghwa that he’ll handle the crew so he can rest up some more. With that decide, Seonghwa decides its time to approach the captain.

“Captain,” he calls, voice soft as he walks up the stairs, “the ship is in working condition. Nothing was damaged by the storm. We are ready to set sail shortly or as soon as we have a heading.”

Hongjoong hums, eyes fixated on the horizon.

Seonghwa waits a few minutes before leaning on the railing next to him. Instead of watching the sea, he watches him and decides he might as well inform him of the crew’s state. “The basic crew seems shaken up over what happened, I think Alex was growing on them. San and Wooyoung haven’t left Yeosang’s room, they’re in a cot together. Wooyoung is,” he grits his teeth and looks down to his hands, “a wreck, to say the least. Yeosang said he keeps declaring that next time someone’s in danger he’s going to go with them.”

That gets Hongjoong to laugh, a breathy tired on, but a laugh still.

“Mingi is taking care of bringing the canons back up top,” he steals a glance behind to make sure he’s doing as he said he would. As he looks around the deck, he notes that Jongho has jumped in to help. “Jongho’s with him. I think Yunho is hiding in the galley, I tried my best to comfort him after I calmed down, but he just wanted to be alone.”

Hongjoong hums again in acknowledgment.

Silence falls between them, the background noise of the crew filling the void.

It’s a while later that Yeosang emerges from his room, looking only a little better than Hongjoong and just a bit worse than Seonghwa. He makes his way across the deck, giving his best smile to the crew, and slowly walks up the helm to join Seonghwa and Hongjoong, leaning on the rails on Hongjoong’s other side. Heaving out a long sigh, he hangs his head.

“I don’t want to ask,” he starts, “but what do we do now?”

No one answers.

The breeze picks up, flapping the still drying sails, and ruffling their hairs. It sends shivers down some of the crew’s spines, the obvious hint of the quickly approaching winter. Still, no one speaks, they just stand in silence as they think.

Just as Hongjoong’s ready to give up, to give the order to push out and set sail, something catches his eye. Something bright, something sparkling, and something red.

Standing up straight, Hongjoong’s eyes scan the water just beyond their ship.

“Captain?” Seonghwa raises a brow, looking at him as Yeosang tries to figure out what he’s looking at in the sea.

It appears again, for the briefest of seconds, something red and shiny surfacing barely. Yeosang blinks in surprise.

“What was that?” He mutters, leaning further over the rail to see better.

Seonghwa turns his attention to the water as well, brows furrowed.

They wait for only a few seconds before the red surfaces again, this time for long enough that they can easily identify a distinct wide, two finned tail.

Yeosang blinks again. “I’m sorry, but what the fuck was that?”

“Hope,” Hongjoong grins, his spirits lifting.

“Doesn’t explain what it is,” Yeosang grumbles, eyes not leaving the ocean surface.

Before Hongjoong can explain anything, the creature emerges, head first just a meter or two from the boat, then it dives under, and the bright red tail appears again, splashing the water around it.

Mouth dropping in shock, Seonghwa quietly asks Hongjoong, “is that what I think it is?”

Grinning, Hongjoong breaths out, “mermaids.”

The mermaid swims to the ship, past their spot, and over to the lowest railing on the main deck, where the plank would sit. She surfaces with a splash, throwing her hair back and pushing it out of her face with a soft grin. The crew scrambles away in shock, some even shouting in surprise and dropping to the deck. Hongjoong pushes off the rails and rushes over to greet her.

“Hongjoong,” the mermaid calls in a high, soft voice as she spots him, pushing her brown hair from her face finally as she looks up to him.

“You know my name?” Hongjoong moves closer to the edge of the ship, crouching at the opening to get as close to the sea as he can.

“Of course,” she flashes him a pearl white smile, “we know all out brothers and sisters of the land. You and Alice are the talk of these waters.”

By this point, the whole crew has gathered around Hongjoong the mermaid. San and Wooyoung stand side by side, just off to the side, wearing collective wide-eyed looks as they stare at the mermaid. Yunho, having surfaced as quickly as he could, stands with Mingi and Jongho, all of them watching cautiously. Yeosang and Seonghwa are at Hongjoong’s side, watching the mermaid with pure shocked fascination. At the mention of Alice’s name though, the entire crew seems to sober and tense up, pulling tight-lipped faces.

“Ah!” The mermaid senses the tension and gives a softer smile. “That’s why I am here actually, she’s alright.”

“What?” It’s a collect chorus of confusion from the crew, but Hongjoong just grins.

“The necklace,” he breathes out admits the crews confused whispering.

The mermaid nods to him. “We promised to protect our kind, that includes you and her. Your necklace called to us as soon as she was in the water.”

“Where is she?” Seonghwa pipes up, he’s perched just next to Hongjoong, standing on the edge as if he’s ready to jump off the ship and get her right then and there.

“Safe,” she assures them, “just over that hillside,” she lifts a hand to point to the small cliff on their Starboard side. “Your plank should be able to reach, go onto the land, across the hill and down to the rocks. I’ll meet you there.”

Without giving the crew a chance to respond, she turns and dives back under the water, swimming out of the small cove towards the other shore.

“Lower the plank,” Hongjoong orders, rising to his feet.

Jumping in action, the crew makes quick work of leading the ship to drift as close to the cliffs hillside as it can. Once they get it close enough, they lead the plank out. It rests perfectly on the soft green grass of the cliff, laying level and flat despite the small waves rocking the ship.

“I’ll stay here and keep the ship steady,” Mingi tells Hongjoong, clapping his back, “go.”

Not needing any more motivation, Hongjoong pushes his arms through the selves of his coat and takes off across the plank. Yeosang and Seonghwa are hot on his heels, with Wooyoung just following them. San hesitates for a second, but his eyes stay on Wooyoung until he decides he better follow. The rest wait, biting their nails, on the deck as they disappear past the downslope of the cliff.

On the other side, they’re met with a small path, carved into the land by footsteps, but not deep enough a groove to be considered often used. That path leads them down to the large rock face beach. The waves crash over the rocks, turning them black as the sky the night before. Hongjoong runs to the rocks, standing on one of them to look over the landscape. The small path keeps going, leading past the rocks to a small sandy beach, outlined by other large rocks, but not blocked. As he looks over everything, he spots the mermaid, swimming past him towards one of the rocks further up the coast, and there he sees her.

“Alice!” He shouts, pointing to her just long enough for the rest to locate her before his feet are taking him to her.

Everyone calls out her name, a mixture of “Alice” and “Alex” being shouted into the cold air. Keeping pace with Hongjoong, they all hurry across the rocks to get to her.

Beside the rock that Alice is currently laying upon is a small group of three mermaids, all looking over her. One with short black hair is holding a large clump of seaweed while another, perched halfway on the rock and showing off her dark blue scales that compliment her dark skin and hair, is laying that seaweed across Alice’s exposed stomach and shoulder. Alice’s dress is, for the most part in tatters, the remains of it seem to be tied around her waist and some wrapped around her chest. She’s soaked clean through, skin still glistening with water, and her face is paler than it her normally tan skin. Her eyes stay closed for only a minute more, but just as they are within a meter of her, they snap open, and she takes a sudden breath.

“Alice!” Hongjoong cries out, dropping heavily to his knees beside her, scrapping them on the hard rock. “You’re alive!”

“I’m,” Alice blinks in surprise, the memories of the Otherworld shore dangling on the edge of her mind, just barely being held onto, “no, I’m, I was, what?”

Before she can really piece anything together, Seonghwa is suddenly on her other side, tears streaming down his face as he takes her hand in his, pulling her attention over to him as she comes to her senses. Seeing him alive and right in front of her sends a warmth through Alice’s heart and brings tears of her own to the corners of her eyes, making her smile. She opens her mouth to exclaim her elation, but he cuts her off.

“Don’t you ever, and I mean ever, sacrifice yourself again,” Seonghwa grits out, squeezing her hand tightly in his. “Do you hear me? For me, for anyone, don’t you ever do that again.”

“I,” Alice blinks up at him, a blush covering her cheeks, “I seriously can’t promise that.”

“Then at least warn us,” Wooyoung’s voice calls from beside Hongjoong.

Looking over to him and Hongjoong, she sees a wide smile plastered on Hongjoong’s face, one of pure relief on Wooyoung, and behind him stands San, with a hand over his mouth as silent tears brew in his eyes. Off to the side, Yeosang is conversing with the mermaid holding the seaweed, eyes glancing to Allice and giving her a wide smile.

“I’m so happy this worked,” Hongjoong reaches up to her neck, gently taking the necklace in his hands as he looks over the pendant. “I was honestly worried this wouldn’t save you.”

“Thank you,” Alice whisper, focusing her attention on him with a shy smile.

While the other three around her share collective looks of pure shock at the sight of Hongjoong’s necklace on her, both Alice and Hongjoong miss the mouthed questions and shock as they look to each other. They debate whether to broach the topic yet, but decide to let it go for now as Hongjoong starts to pull Allice to an upright position.

Once she’s sitting up, she pulls her legs underneath herself, hissing gently as she pulls her stomach muscles, then her shoulder as she reaches to touch her stomach. Then a shiver rips through her as her brain registers just how cold she is between the water, the wind, and the little protection.

“Here,” Hongjoong is quick to take his coat off, laying it over her shoulders gently, being very cautious of her wounds as he pulls it around her. “Why don’t we get you back to the ship, some fresh clothes would do her good.”

“Wait, wait,” Alice holds up her hands and looks around, taking in the situation at hand. “Will someone explain to me how I’m alive first, please.”

Knowing that her crewmates won’t have the answer, the mermaid that was tending to her wounds speaks up, “we saved you, patched you up and brought you back to your crew.”

Alice watches as the mermaid smiles at her, tail splashing in the water behind her. “Why?”

“You’re our sister,” she states matter-of-factly with a gentle laugh, “and we protect each other. The necklace was a beacon as well.”

At the mention of the necklace, Hongjoong smiles and Alice reaches up to grasp it.

“We heard it when you fell in the ocean during the storm and came to your rescue. She,” she motions over to the mermaid still conversing with Yeosang, who now has a notebook in his hands, “is explaining all the details of how we healed your wounds and what we used. Our medicine is quite advanced, so you should be healed up and back in action in no time.”

“Thank you,” Alice smiles at her, “truly, thank you all.”

“Of course,” slowly the mermaid swims back, “anytime you need us, we’ll be here,” and then she whips around, diving under the water and disappearing. The red-tailed mermaid waits around, at a small distance, watching her sister talk to Yeosang.

“Come on,” Hongjoong pulls her gaze away as he stands up. “Let’s get back to the ship,” he orders and then, he leans over to Seonghwa and whispers something to him. Alice opens her mouth to ask what he said, but then he’s standing completely and striding away back towards the ship.

Carefully, Seonghwa and Wooyoung pick Alice up off the rock, Wooyoung making sure her torn dress is secure around her hips, avoiding touching her stomach as best he can and trying to keep her from jostling her wounds. Seonghwa tightens the coat around her shoulders, instructing her to hold the collar together with her good arm. Then they guide her back to across the rocks to grass and over to the ship. San waits until Yeosang is done and they follow shortly behind, Yeosang scribbling furiously in his small notebook as they walk up to the ship.

Upon reaching the ship plank, Wooyoung and Seonghwa steady her on either side while Mingi comes up the plank to guide her down onto the ship. Once she’s securely on deck, bare feet on wood, she finds herself encased in at least three different pairs of arms.

“Guys, guys,” she laughs happily, a warmth rising to her cheeks again as she laughs, “it’s good to see you too.”

“I’m so happy you’re alive!” Yunho exclaims, leaning back to place his hands on either side of her face. “You look like shit, but you’re alive!”

“Thanks,” Alice chuckles, grinning.

Jongho squeezes her where his arms are wrapped around her, making her wince. Jumping back, he gently lays a hand on her arm.

“Sorry! You must be so sore right now,” he bites his lip, looking her over.

She nods, “very sore. I was shot and stabbed.”

Mingi hisses, moving to get a closer look at her shoulder, peeling the coat back to examine the wound, but when he finds it wrapped in seaweed, he pauses. “Is that?”

“Yep,” Yeosang appears beside them, San with him, “they treated her with some special medicine and seaweed to protect the wounds. I’ve got to look over their notes and make a balm that works with their medicine and doesn’t counteract it. I’ll just make that and then grab some things for bandaging her up.”

“Grab some things,” Alice trails off, confused as she watches Yeosang walk to his room. “Why does he have to grab things, aren’t I just going there?”

“Nope,” Seonghwa takes her good shoulder, turning her and steering her towards the other side of the ship.

Making an even more confused noise, Alice tries to look back to him. “Shouldn’t I be going to the infirmary, though? I’m sure Yeosang wants to patch me up as soon as possible.”

“He does,” Wooyoung nods, walking beside her, “but the captain has given us strict orders. You are to be brought to his cabin, which is where you shall be resting.”

Alice blinks for a second, then wrinkles her nose in confusion. “I’m sorry, but what? Why does he want me in his quarters?”

Wooyoung shrugs, mostly ignoring her question, but also not knowing the exact answer himself. Instead of answering her, he opens the door to Hongjoong’s room and holds it open as Seonghwa moves her inside.

The first thing that strikes Alice is that the room is a mess. Papers are strewn everywhere, books on the floor, the desk is a mess of ink and pens, more papers splayed out across it. The bed looks as if whoever slept in it, obviously Hongjoong, hadn’t actually slept at all. Carefully walking through the mess, Seonghwa leads her to bed and forces her to sit down. Then he turns to start cleaning up the mess.

It’s just the two of them for a minute, Wooyoung having not entered the room with them, only closing the door. The room is quiet for a minute before the door opens and Hongjoong enters, pausing when he sees Seonghwa.

“Ah, I was,” he looks tired as he watches Seonghwa, slowly closing the door, “I was gonna clean that up.”

“It’s fine,” Seonghwa waves him off. “Go sit while we wait for Yeosang, I’ll clean up.”

He hesitates, then sighs, letting his shoulders drop as he walks around to his chair, collapsing into it. Alice isn’t exactly sure how the crew reacted to her death, but she can plainly see the effect on Hongjoong at that moment.

Then it comes back to her.

_You will marry a son of the sea._

_My nickname was – is the son of the sea._

_You two sail together now._

_I care._

_Once you know and realize the kinship … the romantic bond forms quickly._

Looking at Hongjoong now, she notes, for not the first time, how handsome he is. His hair currently is still a mess though, this short cut gives him a much younger look, but his eyes give away the years he’s lived and the weight he carries. She watches him, quietly, as he rests his head on the desk.

Not even a few minutes later, Yeosang comes in, Jongho behind him carrying a bunch of supplies in his arms. They walk up to Alice and Yeosang picks out which of what Jongho is carrying he needs and sets it beside Alice. Yunho pops in next, carrying a stool that he holds out for Yeosang. Taking it, Yeosang places it in front of Alice and sits down.

“Alright,” he cracks his knuckles and turns to the crew, “everyone who’s not the captain, out. Seonghwa, she needs fresh cloths as well, if you don’t mind.”

Seonghwa looks over the mess he still has to clean, debating whether to finish it or go get the cloths. The other two leave without needing to be told anymore, both giving Alice little smiles and waves as they exit.

“Seonghwa,” Yeosang calls as he turns to Alice, “you can clean when you get back up here. Just give me some time to clean up her wounds in peace, if you will.”

That makes Seonghwa nod, placing the book in his hand on the shelf before walking out to the deck, closing the door behind him.

“Alright,” Yeosang picks up his notebook, opening it and flipping through it, “I’m trying to process quite a few things here. Mermaids for one, I mean,” he breaks off, looking at Alice with wide eyes, “I talked to a mermaid. I talked to a mermaid about medicine.”

Giggling softly, Alice nods her head.

“Mermaids,” Yeosang says in awe, looking back to his book, “for some reason that’s harder to wrap my head around than gods.”

“The crew will be talking about it for weeks, that’s for sure,” Hongjoong pipes up, voice slightly muffled by the desk he’s still laying on.

“Right? I mean, mermaids that saved Alice’s life. No offense,” Yeosang raises only his eyes to look at her, “but you should be dead.”

“I was,” Alice retorts, “I met another god, Manann, and he lifted my curse.”

At that, Hongjoong’s head jerks up, looking at her with now bright eyes. “It’s gone?”

“Yeah,” she smiles, “I’m cured.”

Hongjoong smiles back at her, his whole body relaxing at this realization.

Yeosang then sets the book down and gets to work, taking the coat off her and placing it next beside them on the bed. He starts with her shoulder, unwrapping the seaweed and putting his own balm over the already closed wound and scaring skin, then carefully wrapping it back up with regular bandages. Once he’s sure the baggage is secure, he moves to her stomach, being even more careful. These wounds aren’t fully healed. The wound on her back is mostly closed, but a scab is already forming over the open parts. The wound on her stomach is bigger, the skin twisted and strained where the sword was twisted in her. There’s still some blood coming out of it. Yeosang is quick to grab a cloth and pat at it, making her hiss in pain.

“Sorry, this wound is still very much open,” he dabs at it again, trying to be as gentle as he can. “We’ll need to watch it closely, so it doesn’t rip more.”

He leans over to grab the balm, rubbing it over both the entry and exit wounds before beginning to wrap the bandages around her.

“Done,” he declares with a bright voice and smile, “all patched up and ready to rest. As soon as Seonghwa gets back, change into fresh clothes, and then I’d like you to sleep and eat. I’ll send Yunho up with food,” then he looks over his shoulder to Hongjoong, “for both of you.”

“Got it,” Hongjoong nods, trying to hold back a smile.

Yeosang collects his equipment and makes his exit then, ruffling Alice’s hair once before heading for the door just as Seonghwa opens it.

“Perfect timing, I see,” Seonghwa holds open the door for Yeosang and then closes it behind him, “I have a shirt and pants here,” he hands off the clothes to Alice and then walks to Hongjoong. “We’ll look away,” he promises, patting Hongjoong’s shoulder to get him to turn away.

She waits until Hongjoong turns away and then makes quick work of her tattered clothes. They come off quickly without much effort, still relatively wet and heavy. The pants are a bit of a struggle, her one arm hurting when she moves it, but she manages to pull them on and tie the strings. The shirt she hesitates with, looking it over to judge how best to put it on. After a minute, she uses her good arm to lay it over her head and then pushes her good arm through the long black sleeve. Staring down the other sleeve for a second, she sighs and grits her teeth. It’s a struggle to lift her arm enough to slip it through the sleeve, but she does it despite the pain.

“Alright,” she huffs out, cradling her arm close to her stomach, “dressed.”

Seonghwa turns first, looking her over to make sure she’s okay before nodding. “I’ll go let Yunho know you’re ready for food.”

As he sweeps out of the room, Alice picks up Hongjoong’s coat and walks up to him. Gently, she lays it over his desk as he turns to face her.

“Thank you, for everything,” Alice smiles at him, soft and unsure.

Hongjoong looks her over, letting out a long sigh. “I’m just happy you’re alive.”

There’s an awkward pause, where Hongjoong just keeps looking her over, and Alice isn’t sure if she should say anything. How do you broach the topic of soulmates with a man whos trust you’ve only recently gained?

“You need to rest,” he declares, pushing himself off the chair and placing his hands on her arms, sending shivers down her spine. She lets him guide her back to the bed, where he pulls the blankets away. “Lay back or sit up, but just sit,” he motions to the pillows he has.

Alice judges the bed for a minute before slowly lowering herself and letting her back rest against the pillows, propping them up against the ship wall. As she pulls her feet onto the bed, stretched out in front of her, Hongjoong picks up the blanket and unfolds it, laying it across her legs.

“You need to warm up still,” he declares, pulling another blanket to lay over her, “the water here is freezing, and while the mermaids did a good job, we still have to worry about fevers and colds. If you get sick on the journey home, it could be bad.”

All the care he’s directing at her makes her heart ache. She wants to do something, maybe kiss him, but all she does is mutter a quiet thank you as he places himself next to her legs on the bed. They fall into silence again. Neither are exactly sure what say, given the mass amount of events in just the last few days.

They’re saved from having to speak by a soft knock on the door, which has Hongjoong standing up and walking over to answer. Alice shuffles lower in the bed, tilting her head back as she watches Hongjoong open the door. Yunho comes in first with a small tray of food, making a beeline for Alice and Seonghwa follows with a tray of his own, but he walks to Hongjoong’s desk.

“It’s officially doctor’s orders to eat a good meal,” Yunho declares as he sits beside Alice, setting the try on his lap. “I made you both some soup, a piece of meat, and bread. We also have water for you both.”

Alice happily takes the bowl of soup form Yunho and immediately starts eating. As soon as the first drop hits her tongue, she hums, and her stomach growls. She practically devours the soup as Yunho cuts up the meat for her. Hongjoong and Seonghwa watch form where Hongjoong is eating his food, almost just as quickly, but Seonghwa keeps looking to Hongjoong, noting how focused on Alice he really is.

Seonghwa stands there, pondering for a minute before it hits him and then he laughs quietly.

Looking up in surprise, Hongjoong raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“I’ll,” Seonghwa snickers, grinning, “I’ll tell you later.”

Not thinking much of it, Hongjoong looks away, accepting the easy answer.

In almost no time, they both finish all their food. Yunho collects all the trays and bowls and makes his exit, a stupid grin on his face as he looks at Alice once more before leaving. Hongjoong then moves over to Alice, placing his knee on the bed and reaching past her for the curtain that he’s made just above the small window. Alice shrinks back, surprised by the sudden proximity, but relaxes as soon as he pulls the curtain closed.

“Alright, we’re going to get ready to sail out,” he leans back, knee still resting on the bed as he looks down at her. “I’d like it if you actually slept a little, so we’ll keep it dark in here for you.”

“Thank you,” she smiles, shyly.

“Of course,” Hongjoong flashes her a bright grin. Suddenly, he has a strong urge to lean forward and kiss her head, but instead, he clears his throat and stands up. He walks back to his desk, where Seonghwa is standing with a big grin and grabs his coat. “Come on, let’s go.”

Together, they head out to the main deck, leaving Alice on her own as she sinks down in the bed and pulls the blankets up to her chin, closing her eyes to let the exhaustion take over.

As soon as Hongjoong close the door behind him, Seonghwa rounds on him.

“You are so whipped,” he barks out, not harshly, but defiantly in a slight jab.

Tilting his head, Hongjoong blinks, “whipped?”

“Exactly, like Yeosang,” Seonghwa explains, “he’s so whipped for that girl back on the island and you,” he points a finger at him, “are whipped for Alice.”

“I am, why would you,” he stutters over his words as his cheeks grow red hot.

“See,” Seonghwa grins, “whipped.”

At that moment, San pops up beside them, “who’s whipped?”

“No one.”

“Hongjoong.”

“Oh!” San shares a grin with Seonghwa. “You mean him and Alice? Yeah, me and Wooyoung already guessed that?”

“You what?!” Hongjoong’s eyes go wide, and his voice goes up in pitch.

San nods his head, “yep, you’re so falling for her.

“I’m not –”

“Captain,” San walks to him, clapping his shoulder, “just let it happen.”

“I got to tell Mingi,” Seonghwa gasps, rushing off before Hongjoong can even defend himself.

San cackles, bouncing off to find Wooyoung and tell him the news. Hongjoong is positive that within the next ten minutes, the whole crew will know. There’s a fierce red blush raking over his face as he huffs, crossing his arms and emerging from the shelter of his doorway. He knows they aren’t wrong, but it’s new, it’s fresh, and it’s honestly a little scary. He steals one more glance at his door before shaking his head and making his way to the helm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went on a two-week vacation after like power writing these chapters on Tumblr, sorry it took a while to cross back over to here!


	20. Chapter Seventeen: Stormy Seas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song(s): “The Begining” by One Ok Rock, “Utopia” by ATEEZ

* * *

 

The sun slowly begins to set over the Atlantic. Sinking behind the hills and fields, casting shadows across the green landscapes. On the Desire, the sails catch the fading sunlight and leave the deck in waning light as the crew mingles around. The cannons are all in place, ammo loaded and stacked, the hull is organized and cataloged, and everything is ready to set sail. On the main deck, a few crew members stand around laughing together, drawing the captain’s eye from his perch at the wheel. San is with them, relenting some sort of information to them. Yeosang comes out of his room, pulling Hongjoong’s attention next as he calls out to him and walks past San. 

“Captain,” he holds up a couple of folded maps, waving them, “is it okay to bother Alice for a bit? I wanna go over some of our route options with her so we can set sail.” 

Confused, Hongjoong makes a face, “why are you asking me? You’re the doctor on this ship, shouldn’t you declare when she’s fit to work?”

With a grin, Yeosang looks up to him and says, simply, “since she’s your girl, so says the whispers on the deck, I wanted to make sure it’s okay with you or see if you want her to rest more.”

“I,” he huffs, ruffling his choppy hair as he moves away from the wheel, “really hate you all; do what you want.”

When Hongjoong turns away, he finds Seonghwa grinning at him, which brings a dash of red to his cheeks and across his face.

“Whipped,” he mouths to him, chuckling as he sees the red on his face. 

“I want a new crew,” is Hongjoong’s final comment before he turns back again and drapes himself over the wheel.

Just below, Yeosang gently takes the door handle to the captain’s quarters and pushes it open. He peaks his head in first, looking over to Alice whose figure is curled up in the middle of Hongjoong’s bed. She twists where she’s laying, and in the dim light of the room, he can just make out a pained expression on her face as she pulls Hongjoong’s blankets closer to her face. Deciding its best sit and wait for her to wake up so he can talk to her now, he stands up straight and steps inside. Once the door is closed, he carefully walks to Alice and sits down on the floor in front of her, laying out the maps and unfolding them as quietly as he can. 

The sound of rustling paper pulls Alice from her light slumber. She blinks open her eyes and takes a minute to process the mop of brown hair sitting in front of her. 

She studies the head for a second as he looks between the maps, deciphering who it is. “Yeosang?” 

Turning, he smiles up at her and lays an arm across the end of the bed. “How are you feeling?” 

Alice ponders for a minute, raising a hand to rub her eyes, “groggy. I think I need more sleep, but why are you here? Have we set sail yet?” 

“No, we haven’t. Wanted to go over maps,” he looks back to the floor and motions her to move closer. “Don’t get up, just come to the end and look at what I have mapped out so far.” 

Doing as ordered, she shifts around under the blankets and sits up, then she shuffles over to Yeosang’s side and looks over his shoulder. 

The maps are different viewpoints of the British Isles and the Atlantic Ocean. One mapped route that’s jotted out in charcoal leads straight to the colonies. Another course has them following the Europe coast and then across to the Caribbean.

“I know,” Yeosang hums, “going straight to home won’t work. We’d never have enough supplies, and if we do run into the admiral, we’d be screwed.”

Alice leans a little closer to look at the routes.  

“With my father still patrolling these waters, is running the coast safe?” She inquires, rubbing her eyes again.

Tapping his pencil, he slowly nods his head, “I think so, but I’m also unsure. He could assume we go south or we go west. I’m not sure what he’s thinking.” 

Humming, Alice drops her chin onto his shoulder. “Take the Atlantic, we can stop in the colonies. Seonghwa can even probably visit his family, I’m sure he needs that after everything I put him through.” 

“Stop that,” Yeosang shrugs his shoulder up, forcing her to lift her chin as he turns “You’re okay, both of you. He needs to stop blaming himself, and you need to stop beating yourself up over what almost happened and what did happen. What happened, happened, and you’re both still here, so it’s fine now.” 

Before Alice can retort, Yeosang grabs her hand, squeezing it as he gives her a stern look. 

They sit there, looking at each other for a minute more. Finally, Alice’s eyes drop, and she lowers her head. 

“Okay,” she breathes out, squeezing his hand back. 

“Good,” he pats her hand and then let’s go to pet her head. “Now, what about you and the captain?” 

That makes her perk up, tilting her head to the side so she can look up at him. “What about the captain and me?” 

Grinning, Yeosang hums for a second, looking back to the maps. “Well, you two seem to have really bonded. I heard about what happened in the cells, and then his reaction to you once you arrived. You being in his room. Seonghwa saying he had this look in his eyes when he looked at you.” 

As he trails off, Alice smiles a little, subconsciously, while pulling the blanket closer to her face. 

“Aw,” Yeosang coos, “you are so smitten with him.” 

“Shut up,” she mutters into the blanket, curling up. 

“Smitten like a kitten,” he sings songs, grinning brightly. “It’s okay, it’s cute. You two are cute. I like this better; hopefully, we get home safe.” 

Groaning in tired embarrassment, Alice pulls the blanket even closer and rolls over. Yeosang reaches out and pats her shoulder before pushing off the bed to stand up. 

“Cute,” he grins, carefully folding the maps and collecting them. “I’m done for now with the maps though; you can rest some more. We’ll set sail shortly. If anything comes up, someone will come wake you.” 

She gives a hum of confirmation and understanding, followed by a deep, long inhale that she lets out slowly. Yeosang watches as her body relaxes and the waves of sleep draw her back in. He spends a second watching her and making sure she’s asleep before he quietly making his exit. 

Once back on deck, he joins Hongjoong and Seonghwa at the helm, relaying the route information to them. Shortly later, Mingi and San join them as well, and then the journey begins. San pulls the crew into order to ready the sails for departure, and Mingi takes the wheel with Hongjoong by his side. Seonghwa heads below deck to prepare everyone else for departure. 

As the last line of sunlight hangs over the ocean, giving them just enough light, they navigate the Desire out of the small enclosed space and back into open water. Mingi turns the wheel and points the ship west, setting sail straight for the colonies. There are still clouds rolling overhead, getting thicker and darker the further they sail. The winds favor them, pushing them forward through the waves. The ocean turns black around them, churning with uncertainty as they sail. Hongjoong stays at his post, right by Mingi’s side. San and Wooyoung scale the masts, preparing the sails for the storm brewing before them. 

The rainstorm begins slowly. 

Little droplets of rain start to sprinkle the deck, like soft taps on skin. The wind picks up, and the clouds darken even more. The distant sound of booming thunder draws the crew above deck and into action. Barrels are tied down, sails being held in place. First, a lightning strike makes the crew nervous, it’ too close to the ship for their comfort, but they sail on and wait for the storm to see if they need to change course. 

Below deck, Alice jolts up from her dreamless sleep, gasping for breath as she looks around wildly. There’s a distinct feeling of fog in the back of her head that suddenly clears and she finds herself wide awake as a feeling of dread and worry drowns her. A violent storm is on its way, figuratively and literally.  

The winds lick the side of the ship, howling around her and pulling her into the present. The storm is already upon them, she realizes, but the worst is yet to come.  

Throwing off the blankets and scrambling to her feet, she makes quick work at slipping on a pair of boots she finds, not caring if there her’s, Hongjoong’s, or any other crew member’s at this point. Once the laces are tied, she stumbles as she hastily moves to the door. She pulls the handle open and steps out into the wind, hair immediately flying up and around as the howling intensives. Halting for a second to get her bearings she rubs her eyes quickly and then moves forward to the stairs.

Hongjoong is the first to spot her, hurrying up the stairs on their right. His breath hitches as he moves towards her, calling her name. “What are you doing up?” 

“I have to tell you,” she stumbles over the last step, tripping right into Hongjoong’s arms. Once she rights herself, she turns her wild eyes to him, “something’s coming,” she declares in a breathless huff. 

Behind her, Seonghwa has moved over, standing pensive on the bottom step. “I’m sorry, but what?” 

“A storm,” Alice says, taking a shaky breath. “I couldn’t see it before with how tired I was, but there’s a big storm coming.” 

Hongjoong gives a nervous smile as he holds her arms. “We can tell a storm is brewing, we’re waiting to see where it is, then we can change course.”

Shaking her head roughly, she corrects him, “no the storm is here. You can’t change course now. It’s going to hit this ship.” 

Another strike of lightning punctuates her statement, followed rather quickly by a rumble of thunder as the rain begins to pick up. 

“We sailed right into it,” she groans, rubbing her forehead, “and now it’s here and something else is coming for us.”

That perks Seonghwa’s interest and makes him climb the stairs, “something else?”

“I can’t,” Alice groans again, rubbing her forehead harder, “I can’t see it, it’s not clear anymore, but it’s coming. I just can’t see it.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Hongjoong pulls her to his chest, holding her head against it as he pets her hair. Looking over to Seonghwa, he shares a very nervous look with him before he closes his eyes.

“I’ll have San and Wooyoung check the horizon. It’s really dark out, but maybe they’ll see something,” Seonghwa says, voice soft as he watches them. He gives Mingi a nod to say ‘keep an eye on them,’ before descending onto the deck to find San.

Hongjoong holds Alice close as he walks back to Mingi, being careful not to let her go. Mingi doesn’t’ say anything, but he does give Hongjoong a pat and squeeze on his shoulder to show him he’s there.

The silence that coves the ship is tense and still. The crew murmurs about Alice’s words, nervous and curious, but forced to wait. The rain gets heavier and heavier, quickly soaking the entire ship. The lighting becomes more frequent, and the waves harsher. The louder the storm gets, the more Alice shakes in fear. Hongjoong tries his best to calm her, rubbing her back and whispering that ‘it will be fine,’ but even he’s nervous and he knows she can tell.

Up above, braving the high winds, San and Wooyoung scout from the main crow’s nest. They take turns looking over both the port side and the starboard side fro any other ships. The waves churn around them, thrashing and rising violently, but no ships surface among them. 

Just when they’re about to give up and go below deck to survive the storm, a chance lightning strike in the distance reveals a black shape behind them, just in Wooyoung’s peripheral vision. 

“San,” he calls, tugging his crewmates wet shirt to pull him over to his side, “there.”

It’s another minute before the lightning reveals the mass again, only this time it’s close,r much closer. To be sure, San waits for another one, which is another few minutes of darkness and thunder before the lightning strikes again. The shape turns into that of a large ship, much closer than before.

“Ship approaching!” San hollers, throat craking at the volume which he has to call down to the crew.

Wooyougn grabs the rope, leaning over the rail to look through his scope at the ship and relay more information. He scans the sea for a second before finding it in the scope, but when he does his grip goes slack, and scope slips from his grasp, plummeting to the deck below.

“Wooyoung?” San grips him quickly, yanking him back into his chest. “What did you see?” 

“It’s him,” he breaths out, eyes wide, “he followed us.”

“Who?” San grits out. 

Looking up with pure terror, Wooyoung whispers, “Alice’s father. The ship of the line that chased us, it’s here!” 

They both share a look of pure horror before scrambling to climb down. As they descend, Wooyougn shouts out the information to the crew, multiple times to make sure it reaches everyone as he shouts, “prepare for battle!”

When the information reaches Alice, a violent shiver rips through her, followed by a choked sob. Hongjoong freezes, arms tightening unconsciously around Alice as his brain reals. Just as quickly as he froze, his captain instinct kicks in, and he raises his head. 

“Prepare for battle!” He repeats in a loud call. “Load every canon and make haste! I know the storm is bad, but we need full sail as well! Hurry!” 

 Alice pulls back form him rubbing her eyes with the wet sleeves of her shirt as she shakes her hair from her face. “I’ll help with the sails.”

Gripping her arms, Hongjoong stoops low enough to be eye level with her. “Are you sure?” His voice is softer, quiet just for her. 

“I won’t pull any wounds with the sails,” she flashes a weak smile, “I promise. I need to help, though.” 

Before he can protest more, she’s pulling away and hurrying to join the hectic crew on deck. Hongjoong watches her for a while more before focusing back on Mingi and giving him orders.

As they sail on, it gets harder to move at their top speed, slowing down due to the force of the waves. The storm is stronger where they are, but behind them where the admiral’s ship sails the storm is weaker. The ship of the line gains speed on them quickly, giving them just enough time to prepare before the first cannon shot goes off. The entire crew falls still for a second before launching into action, holing the sails steady and making to fire the canons. Thankfully, the first line of shots is a warning and misses their ship by a mile, but they’re gaining speed and swinging over to the port side.

“Mingi sails us to starboard,” Hongjoong orders, “they’re heading for our port so let’s put some distance between us. All hands to port side canons!”

The crew moves into position, waiting for orders as the ship grows closer and closer. Mingi at the wheel, Hongjoong by his side, Seonghwa at the bottom of the stairs ready to relay orders, San helping keep the sails in line and the ship moving, and Yeosang at the door to his room prepared to grab anyone injured and start patching them up. Below deck, Yunho stands on the stairs waiting for orders to pass to Wooyoung, who stands with Jongho and his gunners waiting for the call to fire. The rain and wind beat the ship, thunder, and lightning, filling the air around them as they wait. The occasional canon fire and water splash come through over the roaring waves, each one signaling the fast approach of their enemy. Hongjoong waits, ever patient, until the ship is close enough.

“Turn back,” he orders quickly, watching the ship behind them as the canons are moved and loaded and fired, just barely missing the back of their ship. They still have speed, but the ship of the line is faster. 

As the ship slowly curves back over to the left, bringing the canons closer to the admiral’s ship, Hongjoong’s waits still, fist in the air.

Collectively, the crew holds their breath. Waiting. 

It’s still for a minute, the whole sea waiting. Then, lightning strikes, Hongjoong sees the admiral across the water on the deck, and his eyes go red.

“Fire!” Swinging his arm down, Hongjoong roars out the order. It echos across the deck with just as much fury and then the sea is alight with the booming cannons and flashes of gun power. 

Both ships fire, the admiral aiming for the inside and Hongjoong aiming for the deck. Canon balls rip through the wood, chain shot tear through the sails of both ships. The ship shakes under their feet as the crew above deck slips, almost losing their grip on the sails as the winds gust through. The canons are reloaded quickly as Mingi swings the ship to sail away from the admiral, far enough and at just the right angle that their cannons will miss. While the admiral fires back, missing only by a hair, Hongjoong holds his fist up again to wait as Mingi throws the wheel back. When he lowers his fist once more, Seonghwa calls out the order to fire, echoing throughout the ship. The admirals return fire is swifter, this time slamming into the lower deck and ripping through the sails.

As the crew scrambles to hold ropes and reattach lines, Yunho comes up, screaming above the storm.

“Captain!” He rushes past the crew to sEonghwa. “There fire is precise, they plan to sink us again or strand us in the storm.”

“Why does the Royal Navy always sink my ships,” Hongjoong seethes out, eyes wild as he looks around. “Patch up what you can,” he pushes his hair back, slicking it in place thanks to the rain, “we’ll fire once more while I think of a plan. Go!”

As Mingi spins them back, narrowly avoiding a few more cannon shots, Yunho turns on his heel, slipping slightly on the water lodged deck. He bolts back down below, Jongho patting his back as he passes and heads down to start patching with the crew.

Thinking quickly, Hongjoong stares at the admiral’s ship as it chases them and then back to their ship. His mind spins and rolls like the wheel Mingi throws to move them further away. Body so in tune with his ship, as soon as Mingi grips the wheel and halts its rotation, the idea comes to Hongjoong.

“I’ve got it,” he breaths out, unheard over to storm. 

Snapping back to the present, he calls the order to fire once more and then moves down to Seonghwa, roughly grabbing his shoulder as the canons fire. 

“I have a plan,” he declares, “and you are going to hate it.” 

“That’s not a great way to start, captain,” Soenghwa grumbles, looking at him as he wipes the rain from his eyes.

Hongjoong hesitates here, feeling the ship sway as Mingi moves them away form another barrage of fire. “It’s just . . . we need to run, cut bait and leave, but,” he trails off, looking around at the crew.” 

Seonghwa waits, growing impatient, but he waits. 

Finally, Hongjoong sighs, “the ship has to sink. I think I can save us all trouble with the Royal Navy, but the ship has to sink, and I need to be on it.”

“Are you crazy!?” Seonghwa’s deep shout pulls the attention of the crew at this point.

“Yes!” Hongjoogn fires back. “Crazy enough that I know this will work and it has to!”

Stunned, Seonghwa’s mouth flaps open like a fish as he looks at his captain.

“I know it’s insane, but if I can sink their ship while they sink mine, everyone will think this crew is gone,” he further explains, voice desperate. “Then, no one has a bounty on their head, and you can all go home.”

“And what about you?” Seonghwa challenges, anger rolling off his shoulders as he stands taller. “What about us without you? Alice?!”

“It must be done!” Hongjoong hollers, voice louder than the thunder and the rain.  

“Captain!”

“No!” He cuts him off through gritted teeth.

By this point, the whole crew is listening, waiting for the next order. Alice stands off to the side, holding a rope in a white knuckle grip as she looks to them.

“This is your final order, Seonghwa! This is my final order for the whole crew!” He bellows out, making sure everyone can hear him. “I am going to sink this ship, the main crew, besides myself, I order to get in a boat and sail away! No questions! Seonghwa, it is your job to see the main crew members make it to shore safely, and do not,” he stress these two words by showing Seonghwa’s chest twice, “turn back for anything. Understand?” Hongjoong’s eyes are desperate as he looks at him, voice uneven on the final word he utters.

“Captain,” Seonghwa’s voice is thick with emotion, tears brimming in his eyes barely hidden by the pelting rain, but Hongjoong just shakes his head.

“Don’t,” he breathes, voice uneven, “just get the crew to safety, please Seonghwa.”

They stand there for a minute in the pouring rain just staring at each other. Then Seonghwa nods, slowly and strained with a sharp edge to his jaw, but he concedes.

“Aye, captain,” he whispers, looking away and reaching up to wipe the corners of his eyes. 

Not having the time to catch up with his own emotions, Hongjoong takes a deep breath as he turns to the crew. “For the rest of you, if you wish to not go down with me then I understand. Help the main crew get to safety and consider that my final order! For those who chose to see this through to the end with me, prepare for battle! Main crew, collect only what you need to take with you in the boat! That being books, documents, irreplaceable, anything of value take with you!” 

With the final orders uttered, the crew jumps into action. There are two boats on the main deck ready to be brought down, so the crew starts there. Hongjoong returns to Mingi’s side, quietly ordering him to let go of the wheel.

“Captain,” he breathes, grip tight, “are you sure? Are you positive this is the only way?”

“For you to be safe?” Hongjoong asks with a tired, nervous smile. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Slowly, he lets go of the wheel and allows Hongjoong to pull another crew member to take it. After he orders the new crew member to sail further into the storm, he turns to Mingi, who’s watching him with a strained look.

“I want,” his breath catches, and he blinks rapidly as he looks away from Hongjoong. “I want you to promise me that you’ll come back, but I know you can’t.”

“I’m sorry,” Hongjoong sighs, “but this is what has to happen. Come on,” he waves him to follow as he descends to the deck. 

At least ten crew members are already loaded into one boat, which is being ready to be lowered to the sea. Jongho and Yunho are working the ropes, waiting for the admiral’s ship to shift to the other side, out of sight where he won’t notice the release of two boats. 

Walking up to Seonghwa, Hongjoong grips his shoulder, pulling him close to whisper, “my actual final order is about Alice.”

Perking up, Soenghwa eyes him carefully, waiting. 

Licking his lips, Hongjoong lets out a shaky breath. “Please take care of her and make sure she’s okay, and I need you to go to my quarters and grab some things for me. I need you to grab my sketchbooks and logs, maps if you can, but most importantly the sketchbooks, for Alice. Then,” he pauses again, reaching up to wipe water from his eyes. “After all this has passed, tell her that I did kill her father once and for all. Before our ships sink, I’m going to put a bullet right between his yees, and that is a promise.” 

Seonghwa’s eyes widen at that statement. There’s a wave of deep anger in Hongjoong’s voice, and when Seonghwa looks at him, he can see flecks of red in his eyes.

Reaching out to pat his shoulder, Seonghwa remarks, “you’re a great man Hongjoong. I’ll look after her.”

“Thank you.” 

The first boat is lowered from the ship, the crew holding onto the side as they wait for the next boat to be moved over. They lower it down just enough for the crew to climb in when they return from collecting the essential documents and books. Yunho, Jongho, San, Yeosnag, Mingi, and then Seonghwa. As he looks around the deck, he sees Alice still working with the ropes to retie them with the rest of the crew.

“Alice!” He calls to her, drawing her eyes as he motions for her to come, but hse ignores him and turns away.

“Are you kidding me,” Yeosnag grumbles under his breath, moving to stand.

Hongjoong stops him, holding a hand out. “I’ll get her, start lowering them down. Do it slowly.”

Not giving them time to protest, he strides over to her spot and pulls the rope from her hands, passing it off to another crew member that’s running past.

“Did you not hear my orders?” He questions, raising an eyebrow and using his best strong voice that denotes his authority.

Alice looks at him, unimpressed. “I did, but I’m staying.”

“Captain!” The crew member at the helm calls out, breaking his concentration. “They’re gaining quickly, the wind is favoring them!”

“Load the cannons on their side and prepare to fire!” He calls out, eyes not leaving Alice. “As for you,” he directs his voice to Alice, “you need to get on that rowboat, now.”

“Well,” Alice draws the word out, cheekily, “you said main crew members or members of the crew who don’t want to die. I fall into neither of those categories as I’m not a crew member. I know, I know,” she raises her hands as he opens his mouth to protest, “things have changed, but! I have never been formally inducted into this crew, so I am technically not a crew member, and your orders mean nothing.”

Sweeping past him, Alice hurries over to help reload the cannons as the rest of the crew is lowered into the sea. She avoids looking at them and focuses on the task at hand, passing the cannonballs over to the other side of the deck.

As the wind rips through the ship, pulling more ropes and throwing the ship off-kilter, closer to the admiral, Hongjoong stumbles. Then, he turns on his heel to look at Alice, his blood boiling.

“Alex!”

The sound of Hongjoong’s voice, screaming out her pirate name, makes Alice’s blood run cold and hot at the same time. She freezes in the middle of handing off a cannonball, it slips from her grasp, but another crew member grabs it for her and moves away to the canon. Hongjoong storms over, gripping her arm tightly and forcing her to turn around and face him. 

Staring up with wide eyes, Alice whispers, “you just called me Alex.” 

“I did,” Hongjoong huffs, grip bruising on her arm, “and whether it is formal or not, you are a member and a main member of my crew.”

“I’m still not leaving you,” she fires back, stepping right into his space. “You aren’t doing this alone! If you think for a second that I’m going to let you go off on your own to risk your life, you’re insane! One of us already did that and once was –” the press of Hongjoong’s lips on her’s makes her words stop and the world freeze.

Everything moves in slow motion for a good minute as Alice registers the feel of Hongjoong’s hand in her hair and his lip pressing desperately into hers. The kiss is both desperate and passionate, a fire sparks between them that can’t be tampered by the rain that suddenly intensifies and drowns them where they stand. Hongjoong’s eyes are squeezed shut while Alice’s are wide in shock, but she responds to the kiss almost subconsciously as she leans in closer and closes her own eyes. They float there for what feels like forever in that moment, but as quickly as it happens, it ends. 

While Alice is completely lost in the kiss, Hongjoong steps them sideways, and Alice follows. When he pulls back and opens his eyes, he can feel tears brimming as he looks at her, taking her in once more before moving his hand, form her hair to her arm and gripping tightly.

Eyes flashing open, Alice opens her mouth to question what he’s doing, but she’s too late.

Time moves once again, coming back in such a speed that it throws Alice off course. Hongjoong grips her arms, and pulls her, moving her to the edge of the ship, pushing her past the railing and over the side. 

Wind rushes past Alice’s ears as she tries to scream, but no sound comes out, and all she can do is look up at Hongjoong with tears in her eyes as she falls off the side of the ship. It’s Jongho that catches her, all too easily holding her and keeping the boat steady. As soon as her feet touch wood, though, she starts fighting.

“No!” She screams, throwing her arms out to try and climb out of the boat.

Jongho grips her tightly though, pulling her back into his chest. “Alice, Alice, it’ okay, stop.”

“No! I can’t leave him!” She cries, tears now freely falling from her eyes as she sobs openly. “I can’t just let him die!”

As Mingi and Yunho start rowing the boat away with the companion boat beside them, Seonghwa moves over to them, crouching in front of Alice and gripping her face, making her look at him.

“Alex,” his voice is soft, trying to coax her back, “your captain just gave you an order and as much as it kills you,” he takes a shaky breath, “because it’s killing all of us, you have to listen.”

Shaking her head, Alice cries more.

“I know,” Seonghwa soothes, motioning Jongho to let go of her arms.

As soon as Jongho let’s go, Alice throws herself at Seonghwa, who wraps her in his arms and cradles her tightly. He buries his own face into her neck as she cries, brokenly into his.

There’s a dense, dark mood hanging over the boat as they fight the waves to sail away from the waring ships. The rain is worse on their small boat, Yeosnag trying his best to keep it from filling up with rainwater and Mingi and Yunho merely trying to keep them afloat. As Seonghwa consoles Alice, San looks around to do a quick headcount of the crew and members on the boat beside them.

“Wait,” San pauses, raising a hand to count again. When the count comes up off, he looks at each person in turn, saying their name as he sees them. “Eleven crew members, Mingi, Yunho, Alice, Seonghwa, Yeosang, Jongho, and Hongjoong’s still on the ship . . . guys,” his voice goes tight and his eyes wide. “Where’s Wooyoung?”

Back on the Desire, Hongjoong collects the crew above deck, waiting so everyone can be within earshot to hear his full plan. As his eyes scan over the crew members left by his side, he finds Wooyoung emerging from below deck.

“Wooyoung!” He screams in both surprise and anger. “What are you doing?”

“You know exactly what I’m doing,” Wooouyng deadpans, crossing his arms as he walks up to him. “I told you and Yeosang already, next time anyone of you is in danger or decides to do something alone, I would go with you. So, here I am, going with you, and there is nothing you can say or do to stop me.”

Hongjoong levels him with a hard gaze, but behind that, Wooyoung can see a little relief in his eyes. Just a fleeting look of happiness that he isn’t alone in this death mission.

“Fine,” Hongjoong sighs, then he turns back to the crew, “my plan is to blow this ship up. I want to line the side of the ship that will be next to theirs with powder kegs. We’ll sail right up to them, grinding wood on wood, and fire. That way, when they fire back, it blows their ship up as well.”

The crew murmurs their understanding, agreeing without hesitation.

“Good, now, make haste, do it quickly and sail us for the admiral’s ship. I’m aware the underdeck is flooding, so we need to sail quickly through the storm,” his order is followed by a chorus of rousing cheers and the loud roar of thunder.

It isn’t long before their sailing upon the admiral, the waves coursing in Hongjoong’s favor to pull them towards the ship. It doesn’t take long to line the port side of the deck with powder kegs on all floors, and it takes even less time to load the canons with the best cannonball shots and prep them to fire. Wooyoung walks through the water of the lower decks, making sure all the barrels are in place and that they’re open and exposed power in most of them, ready to spark. His boots splash through the water as he hurries up to the upper deck, moving to stand on the stairs, waiting for the order to fire. 

While the entire crew moves around to get ready, Hongjoong grabs himself a long rope, one that is used to swing from ship to ship during raids; he grips it tightly in his hands as he takes to the masts. From high up in the sails, he can see down into the admiral’s ship, which they are quickly descending upon. The rain and the wind make it harder to focus as the wind pushes it into his eyes, but he squints through the downpour and uses the flashes of lighting to scout for his prey. Rope in one hand, pistole in the other, he wairs. 

Thunder booms overhead as lightning strikes the waves in between their ships continuously. It comes faster now, more frequent, louder, harsher. The heart of the storm is upon them.

The cries and orders form the other ship can now be heard from theirs; they’re close enough to jump over with a rope by this point, but they wait still. The winds gust through them, lurching the ship forward and slamming the sides into each other and the waves toss them around. As the ships lock together, Hongjoong spots his prey, standing on the upper deck, but making his way down. He grips his pistol tighter, and his eyes turn blood red.

“Fire!” Hongjoong’s scream is head and echoed below. The crew member at the helm calls it out, another crew member repeats, then Wooyoung shouts down to the crew below who echo is call. 

As the sound of cannon fire and explosions and ripping wood fill the night sky, Hongjoong jumps from the mast, feeling the wind rushing past his ears as he flies over the deck and swings around. Not expecting the attack from above, the admiral’s face is one of pure horror when he looks over and sees Hongjoong, eyes wild and red as he raises his pistol. With an accuracy only years of gun slinging can give him, he raises his gun and fires, just as the order from the admiral’s ship rings out.

The pair of ships are engulfed in huge plumes of black smoke and burning flames. The pouring rain and cold seawater do nothing to stop the fire as it rips apart the ships and it doesn’t taper the explosive energy the power kegs give as the two ships are blown wide open. The sound of the explosions and masts cracking resonate and echo across the open sea, louder than even the thunder and lighting still raining into the ocean.

Across the waves, miles out but still in sight, the sounds reach the crew, forcing them all to halt and turn back and watch.

By this point, both San and Alice are inconsolably sobbing. San keeps begging them to go back, that Wooyoung shouldn’t have even been there, but Mingi and Seonghwa keep repeating Hongjoong’s final order. Curses and choice words are shouted at them by San, words he knows he’ll regret later, but at that moment his heart shatters.

Staring at the burning wreckage, Alice feels nothing inside. Sitting there are watching as the Desire burns and crumbles into the water, unknowing if Hongjoong is even alive, all she can feel is a deep emptiness and a violent chill.

“The Desire has fallen,” can be heard, called out possibly by crew members at the wreckage and carried on the wind to them, but it’s a whisper in the air around them as they sit and watch. 

“We need to move,” Yeosang whispers from his spot next to San, keeping him in place in the boat and rubbing his back. 

On the other side of the boat, Seonghwa still holds Alice and nods his head solemnly. “Mingi, Yunho, keep going. We need to move. As,” his voice cracks, and he takes a second to clear it, “quartermaster, I am now in charge of this crew, and I order us to keep moving forward.”

Yunho nods his head, and Mingi pulls his lips into a tight line.

“Sail for the colonies,” Seonghwa sighs.

With no other options, Mingi relays the order to the other boat and begins to row them away from the still-burning wreckage.  

Over Seonghwa’s shoulders, Alice watches, helplessly, as they sail further and further away into the open ocean.


	21. Chapter Eighteen: Twilight (The Final)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song(s): “Safe & Sound” by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars, “Eyelids” by PVRIS, “Separate” by PVRIS, “Walk Alone” by PVRIS, “Twilight” by ATEEZ

* * *

 

As the sun begins its ascent over the ocean, marking the dawn of a new day, the crew members of the Desire sit huddled together against the cold sea air. The further away they row from the wreckage, the colder and calmer the sea is. The sky is still full of clouds, but unlike the dark black ones that cornered them in the storm, these are simply gray and blinding as the sun rises behind them. The crew members take turns rowing the boat and rationing out the little amount of water they were able to take with them. Somewhere during the night, Alice and San found each other and curled up at the back of the boat, just sitting with each other. Neither of them utters a single word, not even when Seonghwa and Yeosang take turns looking after them and quietly trying to ask them if they’re okay.

The sea is almost dead silent, no one speaks except for the occasional quiet orders of position shifts or direction changes. The waves are, for the most part, gentle as they guide them through the deep abyss.

Staring blankly at the open water before her, Alice subconsciously grasps onto the necklace hanging around her neck. The pendant is cold in her grasp, her hands even colder from the exposure to the wind, but she doesn’t feel it. San is a small warmth attached to her side, his head resting on her shoulder and his hands holding her free one. There’s a distinct paleness to both their skins, worse even than Seonghwa’s usually pale tone.

Winter’s chill sets in quickly out in the open waters. The drastic temperature drops could spell bad nights for the crew, depending on how long they have to stay on the water. These fears plague Seonghwa’s mind as he tries his best with Yeosang to calculate where exactly they are.

Eventually, the hours turn to days, and the days turn to weeks. If not for the rising and setting of the sun and Yeosang’s tally sheet, no one would know how long they’ve been stranded: seventeen days.

The water eventually runs out, fatigue starts to set in, but as Seonghwa is about to abandon all hope for the crew, a savior appears on the horizon.

It’s not a large ship, probably just a small trading vessel, but it’s the first ship they’ve seen in ages. Quiet cheers of relief come from both small boats as they find some boost of energy, enough to push them to the ship. Thankfully, the crew is all too keen to help them aboard. Seonghwa praises them and their captain as soon as he boards, smiling from ear to ear.

“I think you may have saved our lives,” he says it as a half-truth and half-joke that makes the captain laugh.

“It’s no problem, there’s no way I could leave you all stranded in this weather!” Their captain is a large man with a soft smile on his face as he shakes Seonghwa’s hand. “Now, what happened for you to end up like this?”

Glancing back at the crew that’s slowly being helped aboard, Seonghwa’s eyes flicker to Alice and San, still sticking close to each other. “We ran into a bad storm and pirates,” a half-truth, half-lie. “They sunk our ship and killed a good portion of our crew, namely our captain and master gunner. We were on our way back to the colonies from a funeral in Britain,” the lies slide so easily off his tongue, he’s sure Yeosang is standing somewhere around with a proud grin.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the captain sounds genuinely pained by the story. “We don’t have much to spare food-wise, but we have room for your crew and water.”

“Thank you,” Seonghwa grins, “where are you sailing to?”

“The colonies, as well!” He grins, clapping Seonghwa’s shoulder.

After a short exchange of destinations and routes, Seonghwa turns to the crew. “For those of you who can help them sail, please do. I’m sure for most of you, if not all of you, this will be a parting place once we dock in the colonies.”

A chorus of ‘ayes confirms his thoughts.

Turning back to the other captain, Seonghwa bows his head, “I gift you the extra crew members from our crew, but the main crew,” he gestures to the other six standing by the railing, “will depart at the colonies.”

“That’s a very kind gesture,” the captain’s eyes widen in surprise.

Seonghwa hesitates, his eyes dropping as he rubs the back of his neck. “It’s what our captain would do, I’m sure of it.”

There is a split second where the entire crew looks down, the sadness washing over them like a heavy wave. Seonghwa is quick to snap out of it, blinking back tears as he smiles. At the captain and asks where they can stay.

Down below deck, they’re led to a spare room od moderate size, usually used for cargo. The seven of them fit comfortably with room for all to lay down. Alice immediately moves to a corner and sits down, curling in on herself; San follows her and sits next to her, but he keeps his legs stretched out. Seonghwa and Yeosang share a look as they see the pair of them, but all they can do is sigh and find a place to sit. Yunho, Jongho, and Mingi go about finding them all extra supplies to lay on and blankets from other crew members to make the cold nights easier.

Once everyone is back and settled in and quiet again, San finally breaks his silence.

“Ya know what’s funny,” he whispers into the stuffy air, just loud enough for the words to reach everyone. “I think every single one of you, save Alice,” he chuckles, lifelessly, “knows that Wooyoung and I are so close to being more than just family. While the word love isn’t thrown around by any of us that often, we all know me and him are in love and skirting around it for years,” by this point there are fresh tears in his eyes.

Alice looks at him with her own heartbroken expression as he struggles to continue. Grabbing his hand, she holds it tightly as he furiously wipes his eyes with the other one.

“And like,” he sighs, tossing his head back and flicking his hair from his eyes, “none of you would judge. I know that, but I never even . . . I never got the chance to tell him that . . . that I,” he cuts himself off by clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut.

Yunho is up in a second, moving over to him. He sits next to San and pulls him into his chest, rubbing his head as he begins to sob into his shirt quietly. The rest of the crew stays silent for the rest of the night.

Alice maintains her silence for the entire trip, but San slowly gets back to talking little by little. Yunho and Mingi take to looking after San while Seonghwa and Yeosang look after Alice. They sail with this ship for a couple more weeks, most of their time is split between resting in the storage room and walking t upper deck to keep their limbs from getting stiff. The crew gifts them a decent amount of bread and water to share between them all as well, keeping them better fed than they had been on the rowboat. Finally, after almost two weeks, they reach the colonies.

The sky is clear and bright when they sail into the Boston harbor, a sharp contrast to the still dark cloud hanging over the crew as they disembark. Seonghwa and Mingi take care of saying goodbye to the old crew and thanking the captain again for safe passage. The captain parts with good wishes and kind words.

As the crew mingles around some of the vendors just outside the docks, Alice takes in her surroundings. The city is well built with strong stone building standing everywhere. They're people of all kinds milling around and wandering around. The city is alight with some sort of spark she hasn’t seen before. She doesn’t have long to look around and observe before Seonghwa is drawing their attention.

Standing in front of them, Seonghwa takes a quick headcount to make sure everyone is accounted for before speaking. “My family lives in a nice big house in the outskirts of Boston, we’re going to head there. My dad is a well-respected carpenter, so I’m sure he can find up a ship to sail home, and my mom,” a very genuinely boyish smile takes over Seonghwa’s face. It’s involuntary, and he doesn’t even realize he’s smiling as he says, “she’s probably the most amazing cook you’ll meet.”

Yunho makes a noise, something between a frustrated but understanding sigh. “Nothing beats a mother’s cooking, heard that a lot,” he chuckles, shaking his head.

“Oh, just you wait,” Seonghwa waves a hand, still grinning. “Jongho, Mingi, get the crates and let’s go.”

The walk through the city is pleasant though still cold. Winter is bearing down on the colonies faster than it had been at sea. While there is no frost on the ground yet, judging by the clothes of passersby, there has been. Eventually, the buildings give way to tree-lined roads and fenced off pastures. They walk for a bit more as the sun begins to descend towards the horizon and finally stop in front of a rather large brick home. There’s a short little walkway leading up to the front step and a few trees dotting the front yard. It’s a peaceful looking home.

Everyone follows at least a foot behind Seonghwa as he hurries up the path and stairs, he doesn’t even hesitate to knock on the door rapidly. His excitement is palpable in the way he bounces on his heels and bites his lip. Most of the crew grow soft smiles as they watch him and wait for the door to be answered.

When the lock clicks and door creaks open, it’s an older Asian woman who’s head pokes out., She’s substantially shorter than Seonghwa, so she sees the crew standing at the edge of her yard first. Her eyes turn to slits as she stares at them, but once Seonghwa clears his throat, she looks up. As soon as he eyes land on Seonghwa’s face, her whole demeanor changes: her face lights up with a bright and vivid smile, and she throws open the door.

“Seonghwa, my son!” The woman then throws herself at Seonghwa, who quickly catches her in a big tight hug. “You’ve been gone for so long, I almost thought you wouldn’t come home!”

“I know, mom,” Seonghwa takes a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his childhood with a content sigh. “It took me a while, but remember that little oasis I talked about in my letters?”

“Oh!” His mom pulls back, looking up at him. “Oh yes, the one your crew was building? I loved the idea of moving somewhere we wouldn’t get questioned about who we are, it’s not as bad here but was still get looks what with me being from China,” she chuckles to herself at the thought. “Is it finished?”

“Well it,” Seonghwa hesitates, eyes downcast, “is as finished as it’s going to be. Our captain is um,” he trails off, turning to look at the crew.

Mingi steps forward and quietly says, “missing in action, currently.”

“Yeah,” Seonghwa gives a weak smile and looks to his mom, “him and another vital member of our crew are currently missing after a brutal battle at sea.”

“You poor things,” her eyes look past Seonghwa to the crew, taking them all in. “Please, come in, rest, stay as long as you need to. I’ll make some food for tonight and go to the market tomorrow.,” she ushers them inside with a warm smile.

It doesn’t take them long to settle into Seonghwa’s family home. The first night they all mostly just sleep, Seonghwa, of course, stays up to catch up with his parents and talk to his father about finding them a ship. His mother is all too eager to move to the island as soon as possible; Seonghwa encourages his father to agree, by telling him he can build for them. By sunrise the next day, his father is already preparing a plan to acquire them a ship and heading for the docks. The majority of the crew offers to go to market for Seonghwa’s mom, saying she shouldn’t have to go collect so much food on her own. The few don’t join her start helping around the house and yard, trying to put themselves to good use. Every time Alice goes to do something, she also gets turned away, told to rest, and that’s how she finds herself alone with Seonghwa’s mom sitting at the dining table.

Carefully, Seonghwa’s mom places a steaming mug of tea before Alice.

Looking up in surprise, Alice bows her head quickly. “Thank you,” it’s the first time she’s spoken in a long time, the words sound strange coming out of her dry throat.

“You look like you have been through the most,” she muses as she sits next to Alice, “more so than my son.”

“Ah,” Alice gives a small nod, “perhaps, but we all lost someone.”

“Missing,” she picks up her own mug of tea and smiles, “not lost. Give them time.”

Before Alice can even try to ask what she means, she standing up and exiting the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

When Seonghwa returns from the market, he and Yunho take to the kitchen to start cooking. Slipping into the small kitchen, Alice joins them.

“No,” Seonghwa sighs, eyeing her, “you need to rest.”

“I rested all day, let me help,” her voice is less hoarse thanks to the tea, but it’s much softer than it usually is.

Hearing her voice makes both Yunho and Seonghwa freeze for a good minute, sharing similar looks of shock. Then they quickly move to Alice and pull her into a tight hug between them.

“God, I missed your voice,” Yunho mutters into her hair.

Seonghwa squeezes her tightly, hands gripping tightly, but he doesn’t say anything. Somehow, Alice manages to give them both a weak smile once they pull away. She wants to say ‘I’m okay,’ but they all know that would be a lie, so she just turns back to the counter and picks up the vegetables that need to be cut. The other two follow suit, and they end up finishing the cooking in silence.

In the end, they stay in Boston for another week, long enough for Seonghwa’s parents to get everything squared away to go with them. They set sail for the Caribbean late on a Sunday. The ship is much smaller than their previous one, but it has enough room and cots for everyone to sleep well. The journey is set to last just over a week, so they all settle in.

One night, while lying in her cot and letting the gentle sway of the ship calm her, Alice quietly counts how long it’s been. The days and weeks have blurred together in a depressed and shocked haze. A part of her still feels like it was just the other day that she last saw Hongjoong’s face, but as she counts, she realizes it’s been almost a couple months. The realization sends her brain into a tailspin, and tears begin to form in her eyes as she curls in on herself. Slowly she folds into her own mind, the floorboards above her blurring as the distress takes over. She sees Hongjoong again, the details still come clearly, but they’re fading. Quickly covering her mouth to hide her sobs, Alice begins to cry.

As if sensing her distress from above deck, Seonghwa moves to the storage room of crates and sifts around until he finds his target. Carefully pulling out Hongjoong’s sketchbooks, he smiles, gently running his fingers over the cover. He sits there for a few minutes, opening the sketchbook and flipping through it. There’s pictures of the crew, nature, the sea, and near the back are sketches of Alice. The illustrations bring both warmth to his heart and tears to his eyes. Heaving a heavy sigh, he closes the book, wipes his eyes, and stands up.

By the time he reaches Alice, she’s calmed down enough but still not mentally present. As he lays a gentle hand on her shoulder, she flinches and turns her wide, red eyes to him.

“ah,” she breaths out, relaxing, “Seonghwa.”

Smiling sadly, he reaches up to pet her head. “Hey you, how’re you holding up?”

Alice coughs, clearing her throat as she wipes her eyes. “As good as I can be, I guess.”

Seonghwa looks down at the sketchbook in his hand and sighs. “Here,” he holds it out to her, “a gift for you.”

Hesitating, she raises a brow at him and asks, “from you?”

“No,” he laughs, shaking his head, “I could only dream of drawing like this. No, um, this is from Hongjoong.”

That makes Alice’s heart stop. Her eyes trail over the leather-bound book. When she reaches for it, she notes that her hands are shaking.

“He wanted you to have it,” Seonghwa further explains, voice soft as he tries to be as gentle with her as possible, “and he also wanted me to let you know one last thing.”

Not being able to speak as she pulls the book close to her chest, she just looks at Seonghwa.

“Your father,” he starts, pausing and then continuing, “is dead. Hongjoong declared that he would kill him with such ferocity, I have no doubt he did it.”

More tears come to Alice’s eyes, but she quickly wipes them away. “Thank you.”

“Do you,” Seonghwa swallows, looking at her with deep worry, “want to be alone or?”

Alice gives a tight smile and quietly speaks, “I think alone for now.”

“Okay,” he takes a deep breath and smiles, “you know where to find me or anyone else. Try and get some sleep,” he then stands up and makes his exit, head down as he wipes at his own tears.

It takes Alice a good while to work up the courage to even open the sketchbook. She keeps gripping the cover and then letting go as more tears flow, but finally, she forces herself to open it and begins slowly flipping through. Taking time with each picture to look it over and soak in the view Hongjoong has of both his crew and nature. When she reaches the first sketch of herself, sitting atop the masts with the wind in her hair, she feels her breath catch. Every possible detail has been captured. From the slight curl at the end of her hair to the freckles decorating her cheeks. With shaking fingers, she carefully runs her fingertips over the lines of the art, taking it all in. On the next page is a sketch of Jongho, standing in the middle of the deck singing to the crew. It brings a smile to her face, solemn and sad, but a smile still. The next few images are all showcases of her, drawn through Hongjoong’s eyes. Her and San in the crow’s nest; her and Yeosang studying in his room; her and Jongho working on fishing nets, and then her and Wooyoung. The final image breaks her, it’s a heart-wrenching sketch of her and Wooyoung lying on the floor of the deck. Hongjoong has captured perfectly the moment, from the rain to the way Wooyoung held her into his chest. Neither of their faces are visible, but Alice can just picture Wooyoung’s face after he caught her, so clearly, she almost thinks he’s there with her.

Slamming the book closed, Alice takes a few quick, panicked breaths and then climbs out of her cot. She stands there for a second before making her way through the other beds until she fins San.

Also, not being able to sleep, San immediately looks up at her, brushing his hair from his face. “Alice?” He whispers, not wanting to wake up the crew. “What’s up?”

“I needed my best friend,” she explains, clutching the book to her chest.

Immediately, San makes room for her and pulls her to lay with him. She places herself next to him, letting his arm wrap around her shoulders and holds her close.

Opening the book carefully, Alice riffles through the pages as she quietly speaks again. “I also thought you might want to see this. Seonghwa gave it to me, it’s . . . it’s Hongjoong’s sketchbook,” she breathes out the last part in a hard breath as she stops on a page with a sketch of Wooyoung. It’s older, not from when Alice had been with them, so she knows it’ll mean more to San.

Upon seeing the sketch, San lets out a shaky breath. He stares at the drawing intently as he squeezes Alice’s shoulder. Pulling her closer, San closes his eyes and presses a kiss to her head.

“Thank you,” he breathes into her hair, trying his hardest not to cry.

“We’re the only ones,” Alice sighs, gently closing the book, “who understand the pain we are going through right now. Yunho would understand from a family standpoint, but they were so much more to us. They were our everything.”

Nodding in agreeance, San takes a ragged breath. When he speaks this time, his voice is hoarse as tears begin to fall, “I know, I know. We’re gonna have to rely on each other for a while.”

“Until they come back,” Alice nods, shakily, “and even then, you’re still gonna be my best friend. Don’t tell Yeosang.”

The small jest makes them both laugh through the tears and heartache. For the rest of the night, they stay in San’s cot, just holding each other together by the bare threads of their lives.

By the time they reach Inagua islands, Alice has calmed herself down enough to be a functioning member of the crew again. She helps with the sails and speaks a little more frequently, and San is, for the most part, back to his usual self, but everyone can still see both her and San are haunted by the events of the past few months.

The island greets them like a warm hug, the breeze is soft and the sky clear. Once everyone disembarks, it’s a chorus of cheers and celebration.

Home, at last.

“I want to take you back,” Yeosang declares as soon as Alice steps off the ship.

“Back?” She raises a brow at him, stepping aside to let the rest of the crew disembark. San hesitates by her side, but she gives him a reassuring smile, and he heads off to help unload cargo.

“To Tortuga,” Yeosang explains, crossing his arms, “I promised your former crewmate that I’d bring you back. I want to keep my word.”

“What if,” she hesitates, hands gripping the sketchbook to her chest, “I wanted to stay here . . . with you guys as a part of the crew and family?”

There’s something close to happy relief that washes over Yeosang’s face at those words. “Then we’ll sail to Tortuga, reassure your former crew that you are safe and have found a new crew, then we come back. We won’t be gone long,” he reassures, stealing a glance at San who’s eavesdropping where he’s handing off cargo from the ship, “back before nightfall I’m sure.”

Nodding, Alice smiles. “That sounds like a good plan.”

“I’ll inform Seonghwa, wait here,” he smiles at her and then heads off towards the beach.

Quietly, Alice watches as he walks up to Seonghwa, who is in the middle of introducing his father to their work crew. When Yeosang relents the information to Seonghwa, he shares a similar look to what Yeosang wore and immediately nods. As soon as he has the all-clear, Yeosang collects a few small crew members and a small ship for them to sail with. San walks up to Alice and gives her a quick hug and reassuring smile before walking her and Yeosang to their ship.

The beautiful thing about Yeosang is that he doesn’t push Alice, she’s forever grateful for it. While there is a lot left unsaid, the silence is never pressing, and it’s always calm. That's how it is on the short trip around to Tortuga.

Upon reaching the island, Yeosang instructs the crew to wait for them, promising it won’t be too long and then disembarking with Alice.

“I’ll let you lead,” he smiles at her, placing a gentle hand on her back. Then he takes the sketchbook from her, “and I’ll hold this until after you get smothered by them.”

Snorting, Alice smiles, “you already know them so well.”

“I do,” he laughs, smiling as well.

The walk to the hotel isn’t long from the docks. Alice makes her way through the buildings and streets like she used to, effortlessly moving up the steps of the hotel and stepping inside. Everything looks just as she remembers, not a single thing out of place.

Sitting at the desk, with a book in his hands and feet kicked up, is Changkyun himself.

“How many people? How many rooms?” Changkyun calls out, eyes not lifting from the book as he turns the page.

A smile breaks out on Alice’s face as she looks at him. “Changkyun,” she calls sweetly, stepping forward.

Changkyun looks up quickly, neck popping from the sudden movement. His eyes widen as soon as he spots her. “Alice!” His voice echoes in the empty area, loud enough to bounce around the hotel and alert the rest of the crew to her presence. He scrambles to put his feet down and stand, tripping as he comes around the side of the desk and having to grip the side to right himself, but as soon as he gets his footing, he launches at her and draws her into a big, tight hug. “Oh my god,” he breathes, rocking side to side and burying his face in her hair, “I seriously thought you might not come back.”

“I almost didn’t,” Alice breaths, feeling a sudden overwhelming urge to cry as she wraps her arms around his shoulders, going up on her tip-toes as she squeezes him closer.

Just as they pull away, as expected, the rest of the crew descends upon the room, and Alice is dragged around into multiple hugs and group hugs. Even her former captain gets a little misty-eyed from seeing her. Yeosang is praised by Kihyun for doing as he said and Changkyun pulls him into a bone-crushing hug that he is in no way prepared for. Once all the greetings settle down, Changkyun ushers them all to sit in a small sitting area, strewn with chairs and couches, so Alice can explain what happened and what happens now.

With Changkyun on one side, Yeosang quickly sits next to her and holds the book out for her. The rest of the crew eyes the book curiously, watching how gentle she is with it.

“The short version,” Alice begins, subconsciously reaching up to grasp Hongjoong’s necklace, “is that we had some pretty rough moments and a few near deaths before we even got to Ireland. Once we reached Ireland, I did as I was told and then was told I had to complete one more task before being cured. We went to London, got captured, escaped, and then I died.”

The shocked gasps from the crew don’t phase Alice, her eyes too far away to even register the horrified looks they give her.

“I was then saved by mermaids, thanks to Hongjoong, ah,” she stops for a second, freezing at the way his name sounded on her lips. It’s the first time she’s uttered his name in a long time.

Seeing her distress, Yeosang quickly steps in to finish the tale. “Hongjoong is our captain, he’s the reason she was saved. This necklace,” he gestures to the one she’s clutching,   
“is a protection charm; he gave it to her before the events transpired. Then we tried to hurry back, but her father chased us down. Hongjoong and another crew member of ours gave their lives to save us.”

“There’s a chance,” Alice fires back before she stops herself, “I know we’ve been skirting around it, but Hongjoong survived death once, right? Protection charm or not,” she squeezes the pendant in a fist, “him and Wooyoung could still be alive.”

The silence that follows is tense, thick. Alice takes a deep, shuttering breath and closes her eyes. She lets go of the necklace and lays the book on her lap before rubbing both hands over her face.

“Sorry,” she whispers out, covering her face.

Reaching over to rub her back, Yeosang reassures her it’s okay quietly before turning to her crew. “The final part of this story is that Alice here and our captain . . . fell in love.”

“Are you kidding me?” There’s surprisingly no malice behind these words, only shock, and awe as Hyungwon starts, mouth open.

“That’s,” Changkyun looks down at Alice, “amazingly heartbreaking like I’m so happy, but oh my god, Alice,” the last word is breathed out in a heartbroken way as Changkyun pulls her into a hug.

Somehow, she manages not to ball her eyes out again, she keeps it together long enough to share some more details with them about her voyage. Adding stories of their heroics, filling them in on the members that had looked after her. She even mentions, in passing as it still hurts, that the notebook is the last thing of Hongjoong’s she has, which brings tears to all their eyes. Yeosang explains that she wants to come back to the island with them, and surprisingly, Shownu is the one to encourage it, seeming brilliantly happy that she found such a crew for herself. They catch up for a bit longer before walking them back to the docks.

Shownu pulls her arm, making her look to him as he gives his parting words, “as your former captain, I want nothing more than for you to be happy. I will pray that he comes back to you, all of you.”

That’s what makes her finally start to cry, but she still holds it together until they’re sailing. It’s then that Yeosang pulls her to him and she lets it all out again, still clutching onto his sketchbook.

Once they make it back to the island, all Alice wants to do is rest, so Yeosang takes her to his place where she immediately collapses and falls asleep. Yeosang makes sure to tuck her in and place the sketchbook next to the bed before he goes out to celebrate with the rest of the crew.

Alice feels much better the next day, having cried so much she pretty much passed out from exhaustion. There’s still an empty feeling of loneliness and heartbreak in her chest, but for the most part, she’s able to stomp it down enough to venture out and interact with everyone. No one brings up Hongjoong or Wooyoung, the subject still too fresh to touch. That is until Alice and San find themselves sitting alone on the beach, watching the moonrise.

They sit in silence, just enjoying each other’s company for a while until Alice breaks the silence.

“San?” She speaks softly, shifting her toes in the sand as she leans over to rest her head on his shoulder as he hums in acknowledgment. “Do you think they’re alive out there?”

Humming again, San takes a quick drink from the rum bottle in his hands. “I know they’re alive.”

The conviction in his voice surprises Alice, making her look up at him. “You sound so much more sure than I feel right now, how do you know?”

“Wooyoung,” San breaths out his name like a soft kiss, smiling, “he’s my soulmate, I can feel it. If he were dead, then I think I’d feel empty inside as if my whole world was gone, but I’m just longing. I’m waiting,” he squints his eyes out to the horizon for a second before sighing. “I just feel like he’s simply far away. They will come home.”

“Ya know what’s funny?” Alice whispers, closing her eyes. “I haven’t told anyone this, I didn’t think anyone would care at the time,” she sighs, breathing out slowly, “but when I was in the cave in Ireland. The God I spoke to told me that I had a destined soulmate. He said he’d be the son of the sea and that I was already sailing with him. I didn’t realize it was Hongjoong until we were in the damn jail,” she has to take another breath. She feels like she wants to cry, but she can’t muster up enough energy to even form tears. “When he told me about the mermaids and gave me his necklace,” she trails off, gripping the necklace again, her only lifeline. “San, I only just found him, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do if he doesn’t come back.”

“You have us,” he reassures, wrapping his arm around her, “and if neither come back, then we can be two heartbroken widowed pirates.”

A laugh bubbles up from her chest, causing her to smile as she snuggles closer to San.

That night she ends up at San’s place. The next day she spends with him just relaxing at his home. At some point in the day, there’s a knock on his door, and he makes Alice get up to get it. Opening the door, she finds Seonghwa standing outside with his arms crossed and face set into an annoyed expression.

“What’s with this?” Alice inquires, pointing to Seonghwa’s face.

Behind her inside, San laughs. “I think he’s mad that you keep jumping from house to house.”

Rolling her eyes, Alice turns to walk back inside San’s place. “Where even am I supposed to stay then?”

“Hongjoong’s place,” Seonghwa doesn’t miss a beat, still standing in the doorway and watching as Alice completely locks up and freezes at the mention of him. “His house is empty, unattended and if he comes back, he’d want you there.”

Sighing, Alice stands still, rubbing her face with her hands and pushing her hair back. “If I could cry anymore, I think I just might.”

Seonghwa sighs, “I just . . . I think it will be good for you to have his things around you.”

“I mean,” San walks to her, resting a hand on her shoulder, “he’s not wrong. I’m lucky because Wooyoung and I already lived together, so his stuff is still here.”

“I don’t know,” Alice groans, “it just doesn’t feel right going into his space. It’s his space!”

Scoffing, Seonghwa rolls his eyes at the notion. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, if he does come back you’ll be staying with him here anyway, might as well make yourself at home before then.”

“We haven’t even admitted to being in love or anything,” Alice throws her hands up in exasperation, “it was kind of spur of the moment feelings after deep hatred.”

“Yeah,” San draws out the word, grinning from ear to ear, “and that kiss was just ya know, nothing big.”

“I think,” Seonghwa cuts in, “near-death experiences and gods discount the need for the whole courting period. I think at this point, you two jump straight to marriage level.”

Alice blanks at that. “That’s quite a fucking jump.”

“Mystical ways,” San sing songs, still grinning. “And the same goes for Wooyoung and me, once again, we may end up being widows soon.”

“Come on,” Seonghwa motions for her to follow smiling at San as he chuckles, “I’ll show you to your new home.”

Despite the amount of butterflies and nerves taking over her body, Alice forces herself to grab Hongjoong’s sketchbook and follow. San gives her two thumbs up as she leaves, to which she just flips him off with a smile.

Hongjoong’s house is a little more than just a house, she notes. As they walk through their small city and up through the trees, she realizes that as captain, Hongjoong really had some nice privileges. It’s not quite a mansion, but it’s definitely bigger than most houses even in Kingston and Port Royal. There’s a wide front porch, stretching across the whole front, the wood creaks under their boots as they step up onto it. Alice takes a second to admire the old wood door as Seonghwa pushes it open, stepping aside to let Alice in.

The interior is plain and simple, somewhat dusty, but that’s to be expected. Boxes and crates are strewn down the main hallway. Seonghwa points out the kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. They're all relatively large rooms, all still messy and covered in Hongjoong's things. It feels personal, she thinks, as she walks around the house, like getting a glimpse into his soul.

“If you want,” Seonghwa breaks the silence, “I can stay with you or send up Yeosang to stay with you. This house is big, so I don’t want you to feel too alone.”

Alice doesn’t respond at first, just keeps walking around, looking at some artwork lying around or pieces of jewelry that have been thrown on certain surfaces.

“I’ll stay alone tonight,” she turns back to him, giving a weak smile. “I just want to spend some time alone and process everything.”

“Okay,” he walks up to her and pulls her into a tight hug, “just make sure to come down for breakfast. I promised Hongjoong I’d look after you, so no hiding in here,” he pulls back to look her in the eyes, “got it?”

Laughing, Alice nods her head, “got it, mom.”

“Ah,” Seonghwa tsks and pushes her head to the side, playfully, “the children have gotten to you.”

They laugh together and then hug once more before Seonghwa takes his leave.

Left alone, Alice shivers from the sudden chill. Rubbing her arms gently, she moves through the house once more, taking time to study each room before letting herself wander to the bedroom. Compared to other rooms, this one is surprisingly neater. There’s less clutter, but the bed is a mess of blankets and sheets. All the mess is quickly becoming endearing to her, she thinks she’d be able to handle it, and she wouldn’t mind cleaning up after him.

With a soft, tired smile, she lets herself crawl into his bed. There are faint traces of his scent on the sheets, something she had never really had a chance to notice. It makes her heartache again, and then the tears come once more, for what she hopes is the final time she’ll cry herself to sleep.

Days turn to weeks, and weeks into months. The seasons change as do the people. Outfits and styles change, even hair lengths and colors. By the time it’s nearly mid-spring, the town is flourishing, but there is no sign or trace of Hongjoong or Wooyoung. Alice still holds out hope, but even San’s faith is wavering. Months have passed, and even as sea voyages go, that’s just a bit too long if they had survived and headed straight home. Sometime in the middle of winter, they stopped keeping watch, but occasionally still, Alice will find herself falling asleep on the beach where she sits and waits. Jongho or Mingi always collect her at some point and brings her back to Hongjoong’s place, where Yunho waits for her to wake up and feeds her food. She refuses to give up hope, but as the flowers bloom her spirit slowly begins to die.

It takes a lot of convincing, but somehow Yeosang gets her to join him on a short voyage to a village where they do some crop trading. It’s a couple days of sailing, which makes Alice nervous, but San pushes her to get off the island for once, even he had made trips to the mainland and other islands. So, she joins Yeosang.

The village they sail to is one made up mostly of freed slaves, even some Yeosang has helped free himself. As they wander through the bustling village, making trades, Alice notes that quite a few people seem to know Yeosang. His charms are on full display as he has many girls giggling over his words, even if they aren’t that funny. It’s just the refresher Alice needs.

As they’re trading for some corn seeds, someone approaches them slowly.

“Yeosang?”

Turning in unison, they look behind them to see a beautiful, adorable African girl smiling at them. Her eyes are a dark chocolate brown, and her curly hair is tied back in a messy bun that compliments her face. She’s gorgeous, Alice notes to herself.

“It is!” She exclaims in surprise, eyes lighting up. “You’re alive! We had some bets on whether or not you died on us.”

“Very funny,” Yeosang rolls his eyes, turning away, “nice to see you too, Anna. I was on a long voyage with my crew, which,” he motions to Alice, “meet our newest recruit, Alice.”

Looking at Yeosang, Alice notes a distinct red flush to his cheeks. Tilting her head in curiosity as the Anan girl quietly introduces herself and then starts adamantly talking to Yeosang about things he’s missed since he’s been gone, Alice thinks back to a conversation that feels like a long time ago. This is the crush that Wooyoung declared was immune to his charms. While thinking of Wooyoung and his sharp laughter makes her stomach turn, she tries to focus on the girl who is now playfully shoving Yeosang and making him shyly smile.

Taking a risk, Alice smiles and pipes up, “you two are adorable, really cute.”

That makes both parties in question freeze, both blushing. Alice grins.

“You two would make such a cute couple,” she continues, turning to Anna, “you’d do him good, maybe keep him from being stupid sometimes.”

“I’m not,” Yeosang sputters, face burning at this point, “Alice!” He hisses, glaring at her.

“I mean,” Anna smiles, turning to Yeosang then back to Alice, “between us he is kind of cute.”

Humming Alice smiles and nods in agreement.

“What,” Yeosang raises his hands, looking around, “what . . . what is going on right now?”

Anna laughs, still blushing herself. “Um, I think your mate here is trying to set us up.”

“A little,” Alice admits cheekily, holding up two fingers close together as she giggles.

Yeosang stares opened mouthed, red-faced, and purely shocked. “You were so grief-stricken and now, this!”

Shrugging, Alice pats his shoulder. “I’ll leave you two be and take what we have back to the ship. No rush,” she declares, plucking the bag form Yeosang and quickly scurrying off.

“I,” Yeosang watches her hurry off, noting the grin on her face as she disappears into the crowd, “am happy she’s not crying anymore, but oh my god,” he turns to Anna, giving her a nervous smile. “Please just, like, ignore all of that.”

Laughing gently, Anna smiles and quietly admits, “she is right, though, we are cute together.”

In his head, Yeosang promises to praise Alice later on at some point, but on the outside, he’s still a flustered mess.

Somehow, he convinces Anna to come to their homestead at some point, along with a promise to visit more often now that he won’t be sailing on long voyages as often. They part on good, if not a little awkward, terms as Yeosang knows he needs to get Alice home. Once he returns to the boat, it’s to a smug look painted on Alice’s face.

“Glad you’re feeling better,” is the only thing he mutters to her as he sets up to sail out.

After that excursion, Alice comes a little more back to herself. She makes regular visits to her old crew and spends a lot of time helping around the island where she can. She officially becomes Yeosang’s apprentice and takes up cooking with Yunho on the side. San and her become almost inseparable at certain points in the day, both still quietly morning. She even stops sleeping on the beach, which is a huge relief for all the crew. Mingi lets her help him keep inventory and help run the trade and the gold, keeping the island funded and fed. She ends up leading most projects with Seonghwa, but they leave the hard work and building to his father and their crew. Somewhere in the spring, Mingi’s family shows up, and a house is built for them. Anna becomes a full-fledged member of the island and even brings people with her to live in peace. It’s a community.

Then all too soon, spring fades into summer.

While there is still a flame of hope inside Alice’s heart, it’s small and barely alive.

On one soft late summer night, she makes her way up to Hongjoong’s little shrine. The sun is in its final descent, coloring the landscape is a soft twilight glow. Sitting down in front of the shrine, she carefully takes off the necklace that’s been glued to her skin. Staring at it, she heaves a sigh.

“I guess it’s time to let this go,” she whispers to herself, holding it up, so the sunlight catches it. “You protected him, and you protected me, but I guess we only get some many chances,” with a heavy heart, she lays the chain over the dragon and sits back on her heels. “All I ask now if for you to protect his island should be a little easier than trying to protect just us across all the oceans.”

There’s a sharp breeze that moves past her, down the hill, and she can smell cherry blossoms. Smiling, she breathes in the scent and closes her eyes. She takes a good few minutes to just bask in the setting sun, the warmth on her back, relaxing all her tense and tired muscles.

Once she’s relaxed and calm, despite the tears trying to brim in her eyes, she stands back up, wiping the corner of her eyes as she wraps an arm around her waist. Looking out to the ocean, she gives a soft smile and walks to the edge of the rocks.

As her eyes skim over the horizon line, something catches her eye. It’s a ship, she’s sure of that, but she notes that it’s sailing straight for the island. Squinting, she tries to see how many masts or sails the ship has. It’s coming closer at a rather fast pace, so it’s too long before she counts two masts. Confused as to who this ship is, knowing everyone who could visit is currently already docked below, she waits for the ship to get closer. The unnerving part is it’s heading straight for the mouth of their bay as if it knows where it’s going. The ship gets closer and closer, and once it’s close enough to denote the shape of two bodies on its small deck, the sunlight catches something red. At the top of the first mast, something red is flying, flapping in the breeze that seems to pick up the closer the ship gets. Then as one of the bodies moves across the deck, standing on the railing, their head catches the sunlight, and it too shines red. Alice’s eyes flicker between the flag and red hair, then they settle on the flag. The red cloth is tattered, she can tell even from this distance, but the white stripes are distinctive none the less, and just like that Alice’s heart swells.

“San!” Even though she knows he won’t hear her from this high up, she still screams his name as she turns and runs down the hill. She makes it to the town in record time, still screaming San’s name and effectively drawing everyone’s attention.

Popping out of his house, rubbing eyes, San gives her a decidedly disgruntled look. “I was this close to actually getting in a good nap, why are you screaming my name?”

Bouncing on her feet, she grabs his arm. “Come!” She declares, eyes bright and shining for the first time in a long time.

Seeing the difference in her domineer, San perks up, tilts his head, and lets her drag him through the streets. The suddenness of this draws the attention of everyone, and all the main crew members find themselves following Alice as she runs up their docks. It’s as her and San reach the edge that San registers just what Alice saw.

There, at the mouth of their bay, sailing towards them is the small two-mast ship with two very familiar figures handling it. Tears come to Alice’s eyes as she shouts in joy; San immediately bursts into tears, moving a shaking hand to cover his mouth as he laughs in shocked happiness. They pull each other close, hugging each other to keep themselves standing.

“I can’t believe,” Alice breaths out, voice shaking as she bounces on her heels.

San nods rapidly, fluffy blonde hair bouncing as he does. “They’re, oh my god! They’re alive!”

The last stretch of water between them and their lovers seems to stretch on forever as the ship inches closer and closer. Before the ship is even at a safe docking distance, Wooyoung is climbing the railing and throwing himself onto the dock, followed by Hongjoong’s cries of worry. Alice only has a moment to note that Wooyoung’s hair has for sure grow a bit and turned pitch black before he’s throwing himself into San and pulling him into a long overdue and very needed kiss. Cheers from the crew behind them egg them on as Alice herself claps for them, grinning like an idiot.

While she’s momentarily distracted by the pair, now giggling as they cry and hold each other, Hongjoong gets the ship tied off with Seonghwa’s help and slips onto the docks behind her. He takes a moment just to admire her, grinning widely as he looks over her figure. She hasn’t changed too much, but her hair has grown considerably, and he can’t help but love how it looks when she spins around to look at him.

Time stops at that moment, Alice zones in on Hongjoong, the setting sun lighting the sky behind him and giving a glow to the background. The shocking ruby red color of his hair stuns her as she stares, open-mouthed at it.

“Your hair,” Alice starts to say, but she halts, locking eyes with him. Fresh tears are forming in his eyes, and it brings more to her as she shakily covers her mouth. “I thought I’d never see you again,” she breathes, captiously stepping forward.

Hongjoong isn’t as cautious, though. He strides right up to Alice and carefully grabs her face, pulling her up to another painful kiss, this one full of tears and joy. Alice melts instantly, kissing him back and grabbing the front of his shirt. One of his hands lets go of her face instead of wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer as he tilts his head and presses forward. They get lost in their own world, totally missing the catcalls and wolf whistle of the crew around them as they cheer for both reunited couples. It isn’t until Mingi tugs on Hongjoong’s sleeve that he pulls back, leaving Alice a happy flustered mess as Wooyoung takes her and pulls her into a tight hug, picking her up and spinning her around.

Jumping up onto a crate, Seonghwa raises his voice over the cheering crowd. “Our captain and master gunner have returned! The sea is a kind and merciful entity, and she has brought them home! This calls for a celebration!”

The crowd cheers in agreement.

The welcome home festival starts immediately. Bonfires are lit, alcohol is passed around, and Yunho makes quick work of cooking together a grand feast for them all. The shore full of life and joy is soon bathed in beautiful moonlight and the sweet scent of cherry blossoms. As the crew reminisces and hears the tale of Hongjoong and Wooyoung struggle to return without British capture, Wooyoung stays glued to San’s side, and Hongjoong keeps Alice in his lap, one arm secured around her waist. The pair are introduced to Seonghwa’s family, Hongjoong happily meeting his dad and both receiving lots of love form his mom. Mingi’s family expresses their happiness that they’re both alive and safe. Anna introduces herself, and Hongjoong seems unsurprised while Wooyoung is left to stare wide-eyed at her, not believing Yeosang actually got her.

As more alcohol and food is consumed, most of the festivities wind down. Jongho keeps up singing songs and shanties, a drunk Seonghwa giddily joining him and dragging an all too sober Yunho into the fray. Hongjoong watches the scene happily, eyes twinkling as he rests his chin on Alice’s shoulder, squeezing her closer.

Looking back, Alice smiles at him, carefully reaching up to pet his hair.

“So,” she draws out, looking at his head, “red hair, huh? Not even orange-red, this is red-red.”

With a laugh, a bright mesmerizing one, he pulls back a little and taps the side of Alice’s head by her eyes. “Your mermaid trait,” he states, then moves his hand to hold up a handful of his hair. “My mermaid trait.”

“That’s so flashy, though,” she laughs, running her fingers through the soft, fluffy locks.

Hongjoong hums, closing his eyes contently. “I look super pretty, though.”

“You do,” Alice agrees without hesitation. Taking advantage of the fact that his eyes are closed, she leans in and pecks his lips, bringing a bright smile to them. “I’m so happy you’re alive. You are here. I almost think I’m gonna wake up at your house alone again.”

That makes Hongjoong perk up, a sly smirk dancing on his face. “My house? So, you’ve been staying in my bed this whole time?”

A blush grows on Alice’s face. She knows Hongjoong’s getting ready to tease her, but there’s an undertone to it as his hand on her waist moves to her hip.

“No in public,” she blurts out, resting a hand on his chest.

“That’s fine,” still smirking, he leans close, brushing their noses together, “we have a whole house to ourselves.”

Huffing out a breath, Alice shakes her head. “Men, what the sea does to you.”

“Especially when all I’ve been thinking about for months,” he breathes out, “is you. You are the one thing that kept me going and good god do I love you.”

“How can you,” Alice smiles, still blushing, “make me flustered and make my heart flutter at the same time?”

Hongjoong leans close and gives her a slow kiss before smiling. “It’s one of my special talents. Now, up,” he taps her hip lightly, letting go of her so she can stand.

Once she’s up and standing, he follows suit, throwing his arm over her shoulders as he walks them over to the rest of the crew. Wooyoung looks up to them, already having a very knowing smile on his lips as he turns to them.

“Retiring for the evening?” He asks, voice light and way too cheery.

“We are,” Alice says, eyes sliding to slits as she looks at him.

“I want to rest with my girl,” Hongjoong says, bluntly enough that it makes Alice blush, again, and sets the boys off into wolf whistles. “Ah, shut up all of you, I’m still your captain!”

“Not gonna stop us,” Yeosang mutters, grinning into his bottle as he takes a drink.

“Goodnight you heathens,” Hongjoong waves them off, “and I’m resting tomorrow, Wooyoung do the same.”

“Aye!” He raises his bottle, leaning into San’s side with a wide grin.

Dropping his arm around Alice’s waist, Hongjoong turns her away with a grin and leads her down the shore. He takes his time peppering her face with kisses as they walk, making her giggles fill the night air around them.

The scent of cherry blossoms lingers in the air, and the sound of soft singing plays like a background melody. Everyone is right where they are supposed to be, home at last.

* * *

 


End file.
